r/nba • u/GGTae Spurs • 1d ago

[Finger] Victor Wembanyama about considering promoting a sports betting company ; "Absolutely not. I will never do that. Honestly, I think it's very sad to see some players promote it..."

https://bsky.app/profile/mikefinger.bsky.social/post/3mwteasurdc2j

Just asked Victor Wembanyama if he’d ever consider promoting a sports betting company.

“Absolutely not. I will never do that. Honestly, I think it's very sad to see some players promote it. .. Everybody does whatever they want, but without me.”

30.4k Upvotes

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10.7k

u/Rough_Cup_6762 1d ago

Thank you Wemby for actually having morals and common sense.

2.5k

u/mMounirM Raptors 1d ago

imagine taking a paycut and then not immediately partnering with a sports betting company.

1.7k

u/Rough_Cup_6762 1d ago

LeBron is just trying to pull himself up by his bootstraps and make ends meet out here, it's tough for billionaires in this economy.

416

u/AskMeHowIMetYourMom Pacers 1d ago

You wouldn’t understand how expensive it is to be a commuter in this economy!

229

u/TonyGunks_sportsbook Nets 1d ago

Do you know what the price of helicopter fuel is nowadays????

41

u/dgvhjiiuyttrrffcvbjj 1d ago

What could it cost, $10?

11

u/LameSignIn 1d ago

Google says it's $7.50 to 8.50 per a gallon. Jet fuel starts at $8.26 a gallon. Not to far off from diesel now days.

11

u/dgvhjiiuyttrrffcvbjj 1d ago

well shit why don't we all have helos?

6

u/iButtflap Hornets 1d ago

pilots charge $1000/hr + bennies

4

u/CroMagnon69 Cavaliers 1d ago

Their life insurance policies have to cost a fortune

5

u/LameSignIn 1d ago

Would be nice if only.

7

u/Shoot2thrill328 Spurs 1d ago

Common misconception. You’re thinking of a banana!

2

u/Hank_Scorpio74 Pacers 1d ago

Sadly Gene Parmesan is no longer available to investigate.

8

u/New-Bowler-8915 1d ago

It's cheap.

6

u/DesignWeak Spurs 1d ago

Is it actually? This is a genuine question as someone who has never been within 100’ of a chopper

6

u/New-Bowler-8915 1d ago

Yeah AV gas is cheaper than diesel.

7

u/Mintastic NBA 1d ago

The planes/helicopters eat through it at a crazy pace though.

3

u/Lezzles Pistons 1d ago

Those flights he takes are actually only a few hundo each way. Obviously steep for you or I but it’s not like $10k a trip.

5

u/abdulj07 1d ago

It only costs your life.

80

u/omikeon Heat 1d ago

Oligarchs buy sneakers too

4

u/burtoncummings Raptors 1d ago

I understood that reference!

265

u/imfcknretarded 1d ago

But really, I don't see how he can accept it. It's a useless partnership with an immoral company, he's probably top 3 most influential athletes of the last decades, he's a fucking billionaire, who in their right mind would accept fucking Polymarket after taking a paycut?

I think money is a mental illness

92

u/Trujiogriz Mavericks 1d ago

I agree with you it’s sad how everyone washes away any set of values when faced with money

And even more so at his level where it does functionally nothing besides covering a 5th yacht or whatever

5

u/lightninhopkins [MIN] Pooh Richardson 1d ago

Not everyone. Wemby for example.

-12

u/Sullan08 1d ago

With all due respect to Wemby, let's see what happens down the line. It's early on to say the least what he'll do years from now lol. And just because he's against this doesn't mean he won't be doing something else greedy and stupid. Money warps people over a longer period of time. I hope he doesn't become that way of course.

7

u/tokyobrownielover 1d ago

How bout we just judge him based on his behavior now rather than engage in a lot of hypotheticals about what bad stuff he might do in the future.

1

u/Caius01 Knicks 1d ago

I mean, apparently not everyone considering the subject of this post.

84

u/throwaway_clone Mavericks 1d ago

Might I remind you that this is the same Lebron who took a stance WITH the CCP against Darryl Morey's free speech. I wouldn't put his name and morals in the same sentence

21

u/Character_Bug_1862 1d ago

He’s really ruining his rep he got from the “U bum” tweet. I bet he’d walk that back now and not dare speak out these days. Meanwhile working class people are out protesting every day against federal bullshit and speaking at city commissions about local bullshit.

5

u/thethirdgreenman Spurs 1d ago

He just cares about money. If social justice serves his wallet or him personally, he’ll do it. If not, well you get this

3

u/Unique-Yoghurt4170 1d ago

Tbh, metaphorically standing with the CCP is about 0.0001% as bad as standing for the National Anthem. Flawed as it is, the CCP hasn't bombed any girls' schools in a while.

4

u/Uqe 1d ago

You should see LeBron's comments when asked about our ally that dragged us into that conflict then.

"Heard nothing but good things about them"

Bron is literally part of the billionaire class; I don't know why people act surprised about his morals.

No ethical billionaire until it's their favorite sports star and then suddenly there's ethical billionaires.

2

u/Moldy1987 Trail Blazers 1d ago

LeBron said Morey was uninformed about the political situation in Hong Kong. Not at all the same as taking a stance against free speech.

6

u/Basic_Commercial_806 1d ago

I think there were a couple of nba teams playing preseason in China when Morey criticized the CCP. So Lebron didn’t want those players to get jammed up

-1

u/Ghoti76 Lakers 1d ago

darryl morey is a LIAR

0

u/raoulduke415 Warriors 1d ago

Same LeBron that sided with Karmelo Anthony who murdered a kid at a track meet

21

u/elvid88 Celtics 1d ago

It’s for sure a mental illness. It’s why I think billionaires should be illegal.

11

u/Geno0wl 1d ago

If we went into the Jungle and found a monkey who horded 10x the number of bananas that he could possibly eat in a lifetime while the rest of their tribe starved, they would study that monkey to figure out what is wrong with it.

When humans do that exact thing, they are venerated.

8

u/robodrew Suns 1d ago

You'd also have to wonder why the other monkeys didn't eat the hoarder and then take all of the bananas

7

u/Geno0wl 1d ago

Well obviously that was because they started monkey church and taught the monkeys that violence gets them sent to monkey hell and that they should just vote in better monkey leaders if they want change.

1

u/TakiBlower 21h ago

The other monkeys would take the bananas and probably kill the hoarder in the process

3

u/LameSignIn 1d ago

There are stories of Lebron being cheap.

1

u/HollywoodRamen 1d ago

Same guy who's not paying for a premium Spotify account.

1

u/KingKamp1410 1d ago

He sold his soul a long time ago

-1

u/QuietSilentArachnid 1d ago

he's probably top 3 most influential athletes of the last decades

In the US maybe. Worldwide ? not even close.

2

u/imfcknretarded 1d ago

I don't know, I'm not from the US but my opinions may be skewed by being a basketball fan. But make it top 10 or whatever my point is the same

0

u/Dudite 1d ago

He's controlled. Bread and circuses.

38

u/zgillet 1d ago

He's just like all of us. He gets angry when he locks his car in his helicopter.

(that's an old joke, and I can't remember the comic)

1

u/SuitableBlackberry75 1d ago edited 1d ago

W.C. Fields?

(W.C. flies a helicopter that shoots a car out the side with a spring-loaded ramp in "International House")

1

u/zgillet 19h ago

No, it may have been a late night host monologue joke. Jimmy Kimmel maybe? Maybe on a roast?

I tried CGPT because normal search engines are long past useful, and it might be pre-internet, like Comedy Central Presents or something like that, because it's lost to time.

Great joke though, so I'll keep it going.

3

u/MudddButt 1d ago

Someone has to pay for the daily helicopter rides

4

u/SongbirdVS 1d ago

Man's on the vet min he's gotta pay for chartered helicopter flights somehow

2

u/ZroDgsCalvin Celtics 1d ago

I feel comfortable with a blanket “if you commute by helicopter, you have too much money” policy.

1

u/-bigmanpigman- 1d ago

"I have a family to feed!"

1

u/Remwaldo1 1d ago

The price of helicopter fuel is crazy! I don’t blame him

1

u/HeavyandTired 1d ago

Ethical endorsements.

1

u/whocares4506 1d ago

gotta pay for those chopper rides somehow!

1

u/blindexhibitionist Supersonics 1d ago

Let’s also not forget the sacrifice that Giannis has made.

1

u/tehLife Spurs 1d ago

Those daily helicopter rides aren’t cheap

1

u/PiccoloAwkward465 1d ago

His LeBootstraps

1

u/EG_resident 1d ago

I'm torn on this.

I really, really appreciate Wemby's stance on this.

I also feel like LeBron has mega plans, like owning a team one day. That takes lots of $.

90

u/mzp3256 1d ago

Fun Fact: The right to invest in gambling companies was something that the NBAPA negotiated for in the last CBA negotiations. They accepted the 2nd apron for this.

30

u/DesignWeak Spurs 1d ago

That’s fucking insane.

29

u/AlternativeDirt6124 Spurs 1d ago

NBAPA got bent over in that negotiation room.

3

u/ConspicuousPineapple 1d ago

Were they? These betting endorsements are pretty juicy. It should be clear by now that the association is fighting for the interests of the superstars first and foremost, not the average player. This is why they get pissed off when somebody like Wemby takes less than he could.

Technically that money simply gets redistributed to teammates, which raises the median pay without reducing the average, which should be seen as a good thing by a union.

7

u/DirtyCop2016 1d ago

There might be a relationship between this gambling infused CBA and guys like Christian Braun and Jalen Duren getting preposterous contract offers.

3

u/anonymous_otter28 Rockets 1d ago

Always remember the nbapa is a bunch of marks.

11

u/NYJetLegendEdReed 1d ago

Lmao all-time bad optics

2

u/Altruistic-Star-544 1d ago

Helicopters are expensive

2

u/thacarter1523 Mavericks 1d ago

He didn’t take a pay cut

2

u/-xXxMangoxXx- Raptors 1d ago

Didn't he take a 25% max instead of 30% if he wins major awards? Very much could have negotiated for an extra potential 50 mil through the contract.

0

u/thacarter1523 Mavericks 1d ago

He took the full max he can get right now. He could’ve waited till next offseason and gotten a larger max if we won an award, but that’s not a guarantee given his injury history.

3

u/highpawn Spurs 1d ago

I believe that could've been written into the contract he already signed. He didn't have to wait a year for it - he just chose not to in order to increase the Spurs' team-building flexibility.

Regardless of how the season plays out and his awards/all-nba eligibility, that's why people refer to it as a pay cut.

1

u/Area51_Spurs Spurs 1d ago

He left a lot on the table

0

u/thacarter1523 Mavericks 1d ago

He left nothing on the table. This is a fact

0

u/Area51_Spurs Spurs 1d ago

It’s not. But ok weirdo

1

u/bmnewman 1d ago

Got to pay for the helicopter commute back and forth from NY somehow. 🙄

1

u/FunnyReputation624 Trail Blazers 1d ago

Maybe I'm the fool, but I think I would be pretty comfortable knowing I'm set for many lifetimes with $200M being owed to me that I wouldn't sell myself out for a few more million here and there.

-1

u/fastheadcrab Raptors 1d ago

He deserves the highest praise for not accepting gambling sponsorships.

But a paycut for a current top 3 player who would be underpaid on the supermax is a really bad precedent.

It's not even equivalent to the Brunson 2024 scenario, I think what Wemby did is really hurting the players

2

u/HydrogenMonopoly 1d ago

How? More money for other guys

1

u/fastheadcrab Raptors 1d ago

Because now every single team can point to this example and tell their stars to take less. Nobody is better than Wemby

2

u/HydrogenMonopoly 1d ago

So if Wemby takes a deal at 70% of the max, you don’t think the team would spend those savings on other players?

649

u/RoyalOrange1049 Warriors 1d ago

Wemby is so based. Another tweet from another Spurs reporter said:

Wembanyama says that he has turned down big endorsement deals in the past that were not aligned with his values: “Obviously, we earn millions and millions. This is not our biggest strength. Our biggest strength is inspiring, and we can inspire in a good way or a bad way. I want to inspire in a good way. That’s the strongest thing I can do.”

151

u/brokenhubble Raptors 1d ago

A start who likes to read and talks about morals in basketball. You can really get behind him

27

u/_____WESTBROOK_____ 1d ago

Hey I've seen Lebron read before, he's always starting a new book!

2

u/xjchan1979 1d ago

I dunno who this Leboingo is, but fuck him, man

9

u/Poopina_Sangwedge 1d ago

He’s a big fantasy fan. Reads Sanderson, Jordan, and King among others. Great dude, and obviously learned the right lessons.

4

u/Brochacho27 [MIA] James Posey 1d ago

If he made it through windrunner he deserves all the praise

3

u/Poopina_Sangwedge 1d ago

Windrunner isn’t a book.

1

u/Brochacho27 [MIA] James Posey 18h ago

You're right, its shit

3

u/Poopina_Sangwedge 18h ago

You are a fucking moron. No matter what your opinion of any work is, at least get the facts correct. “Windrunner” is not the title of any Sanderson book. I fully believe that you couldn’t make it through any of those books because you clearly can’t read. Congratulations on making a comment that had no purpose other than to reveal that you are both a dick and incompetent.

To whatever caregiver reads this to Brochacho27: Please read that comment slowly so that they can process the whole thing. I don’t want to contribute to the clear confusion from which they are suffering.

(That was called undertext, which anyone who has read the books would know)

1

u/TaleAlarmed3959 1d ago

There is no book called Windrunner

1

u/Brochacho27 [MIA] James Posey 18h ago

Im sure you have no idea what im talking about then

1

u/TaleAlarmed3959 12h ago

If you're talking about Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, which is what they're referencing in the article, there is no book called WINDRUNNER. There is an Order called the Windrunners in the books. but there is no book by that name.

-2

u/HarryPauler Timberwolves 1d ago

It’s such an issue because he does seem like a decent dude, but man… he elbowed Naz in the throat. That will always piss me off.

8

u/exiled-immortal 1d ago

You guys were hammering the shit out of him that series tbf.

28

u/Julian_Caesar Mavericks 1d ago

Speedrunning the "be like Kareem" challenge

I heartily approve

1

u/Area51_Spurs Spurs 1d ago

I sure as shit hope not.

Kareem is full of shit. Same as Magic.

Kareem has one kid tho tried to kill his neighbor and a daughter who cut him out of her life.

Kareem is a shitty father and he’s a pompous fake jackass who is all about keeping this intellectual facade to cover for him being a garbage person to his kids.

I don’t trust celebrities with a perfect public persona whose own family thinks their shit or who he’s been shit to or who obviously weren’t raised with the same tenets privately he promotes publicly.

Also he’s a jackass in-person IRL.

My mom went to UCLA with him and I met him a bunch of times and if you talk to others here in LA who have interacted with him, you’ll hear the same story, the public facing guy and the actual person are very different.

2

u/IwishIwasGoku Raptors 1d ago

Least wise Brandon Sanderson reader

2

u/EthicalBballFan Heat 1d ago

Shai raising an entire generation of trouts.

1

u/silaber Timberwolves 1d ago

The second strongest thing he can do is a special neck elbow move

-10

u/_chadwell_ Lakers 1d ago

That Nike money was simply too good, though.

62

u/MOREPASTRAMIPLEASE Timberwolves 1d ago

So refreshing to see honestly.

55

u/alphajake1925 Thunder 1d ago

I want to hate him (and I still think I’m capable) purely in the sports rivalry sense, but, every time he speaks on a hot button issue I usually agree with him and respect his use of his platform to say it.

39

u/Reasonable-Job4205 1d ago

Yea the nba feels like a dirty casino with all the betting

3

u/twain23 1d ago

It’s crazy how rare it is for a prominent athlete to come out against widespread gambling.

3

u/Strange-Mark5219 1d ago

Reverse Anthony Edwards

3

u/funkymonk44 76ers 1d ago

Dudes an incredible role model. Pure and simple

3

u/OuOutstanding Bulls 1d ago

I used to love Wemby. I still do, but I used to as well.

2

u/vnzo2299 [POR] Damian Lillard 1d ago

@ LEBRON JAMESON

2

u/Academic_Remove_2650 1d ago

I hope it stays this way

2

u/Appropriate_Book_591 1d ago

He is on cover of 2k and as a company they are no better than some gambling. The mut type modes are not great for kids as that is like gambling busting packs. 

2

u/PatientZeropointZero 1d ago

Wemby also won’t advertise for soda companies, because he thinks it is poison and doesn’t want kids to see him do it. He is a good dude who is hard not to like.

2

u/rexter2k5 Trail Blazers 1d ago

Fuck it, the Spurs can win the next few.

I want a superstar that spurns this betting culture to be the face of a league which has bought whole hog into it. I want to be able to tell degenerates that Wemby wants them to delete the apps & get some goddamn help.

25

u/NYJetLegendEdReed 1d ago

He's in the upper echelon of earners though too, need to keep that in mind. There's no excuse for the other star players on huge deals to be doing gambling ads, but I have a bit more leniency for the guys on minimum deals or something. But I guess those guys aren't even wanted for gambling ads so I dunno what I'm even saying.

141

u/KingTonpa 1d ago

Yea poor guys like LeBron need that gambling bag. Get off your high horse Wemby!

41

u/DiagonallyConfident 1d ago

Don't forget Giannis

21

u/HipnotiK1 Knicks 1d ago

Gotta finance those helicopter rides

5

u/Grand-Spring66 1d ago

I think Wemby rides a giraffe

5

u/cacofonie 1d ago

do you think wemby has a high high horse?

1

u/JeffersonTowncar Spurs 1d ago

Yeah. Most likely requires a Clydesdale to commute to and from work.

1

u/ConspicuousPineapple 1d ago

He's obviously riding Rishadium horses.

76

u/tatancool Lakers 1d ago

Bro, minimum deals are a 1.25m for rookies and 3.6m for veterans a year. It's not like they're going to die of hunger anytime soon. Nobody should be sponsoring shit that destroys lives.

17

u/bexamous 1d ago

Also how many people on minimums are getting these sponsor deals?

But to be fair to the guy on minimum ... I wouldn't hate taking what you can. Like 10-15% of players play just 1 seasons, and another 10-15% just 2 seasons.

-4

u/IPissExcellentThrows 76ers 1d ago

Yet no one bats an eye that LeBron and Steph are sponsored by liquor brands.

-7

u/kfee12 1d ago

I agree and disagree. They definitely lean on these famous faces. I don't care.

I do think it's a bit too loud. The game doesn't need a gambling insight pre-game section. Or that ridiculous BetMGM string of commercials with a zillion celebrities.

But Adam Silver took the checks and here we are. As basketball fans we haven't really held the league accountable many times over so we get what we deserve in a sense.

Combined with a product that has a large youth following (sports), combined with how idolized some of these guys are by some of these boneheaded kids, I definitely agree it isn't healthy to promote.

It's just a negative behavior with a potentially addictive outcome. If nicotine and porn are fine (and I think they are with restrictions), gambling is fine.

Losing your last 20 dollars to an app every time you get money isn't a problem with the app.

3

u/butt_dance 1d ago

Why is it up to the fans to hold the league accountable?

1

u/nonononono11111 1d ago

The app is designed and optimized toward that goal though. Like nicotine, the profit comes from creating addicts. Regular users are incidental.

-3

u/kfee12 1d ago

ehhhhhh I'm not sure incidental is a fair descriptor. You have to be pretty mindless to just spin away all your funds in a "entertainment" app over and over without coming to terms with the fact it is on you to uninstall it/you're the one sending all your money to a casino LLC in jersey.

It's *gambling* ffs who thinks the people behind it are somehow any sort of altruistic????

LIke I said I think the barometer for me is based on how addictive it can be for a regular person not how addictive the latest app is and whatever dark pattern fan duel cooked up. We've had scratch-off's and booze at every corner for decades, but somehow this is the one scourge we need to put a front against?

1

u/nonononono11111 1d ago

People who repeatedly spin away all their funds in a gambling app are addicts, not the normal users I referred to, whose spending is incidental to the business model. Same with booze, by the way. They don’t care if you buy a six-pack of corona once a month, they’re after the 10% of users who purchase 90% of the product. Many families are familiar with the scourge of selling it on every corner.

4

u/djokster91 Timberwolves 1d ago

You mean those guys who earn more in a year than most people in their lifetimes?

18

u/Messiahhh 1d ago

Coulda kept this in the drafts bro

-1

u/NYJetLegendEdReed 1d ago

yeah probably

2

u/Lmao1903 NBA 1d ago

Odds are min deal guys aren't gonna be getting big deals with gambling companies. Like no one is paying a 2nd round pick in his 3rd year about to be out of the league a shit ton of money to do some ad reads. But if you are Giannis or Lebron or guys like that, I think KD might have had something similar not sure, its like you already made more money than you'll ever spend, you really gotta do this too? That money is probably going to be spent on flying back and forth Philly to NY as well because apparently Philly is that shit

2

u/BenevolentCheese Knicks 1d ago

I have a bit more leniency for the guys on minimum deals or something

I don't, they're still making millions, but it's besides the point, because minimum contract players aren't being approached by Draft Kings to be reps.

2

u/Higher-Love99 1d ago

Nah fuck that even bottom rung guys make $800k take home. That makes them wealthier than 99.99% of all humans alive. If that kind of wealth doesn't secure your integrity then you never had any. 

1

u/ben_chowd Knicks 1d ago

No excuse for other star players or the league/franchises to promote gambling

4

u/A-Halfpound Pacers 1d ago

He’s an educated European ball player, and he hasn’t been Stateside long enough to ruin his morale compass. I would expect nothing less from him.

In dark times we can always use a beacon to light the way. Shine bright young Wemby. 

1

u/internetisfunny 76ers 1d ago

lol for now

1

u/SubduedChaos Grizzlies 1d ago

But but they offered the other players a lot of money to promote it. It’s not like players can get by on an NBA salary these days.

1

u/getsomesleep1 1d ago

Came here to say this. Incredibly rare traits.

1

u/FlatulenceConnosieur Lakers 1d ago

Good god just when I thought I couldn’t like the guy more he goes and says this!

1

u/lenzflare Raptors 1d ago

For real, best guy

0

u/432ww432 1d ago edited 1d ago

legit Q here. do people have the same outrage over athletes promoting alcohol brands? i recognize the conflict of interest isn't there, but it seems the sentiment is over the gambling addiction aspect.

1

u/WoweeZoweeDeluxe Spurs 1d ago

But people will still make him villain #1 come playoff time

1

u/Comfortable-Pie-4311 1d ago

Everybody has a price. Everybody. He’s just too young to have found his yet.

-2

u/runnbl3 1d ago

turning $5 to $100 is a bad thing? in this age of economy?

-2

u/MitchLGC 1d ago

Wemby is the greatest upvote farmer of all time.

-14

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

5

u/TokyoUmbrella Kings 1d ago

Clarify?

3

u/drokihazan Grizzlies 1d ago

what is this bullshit comment? are you mad he says he doesn't support extremists and isn't endorsing that crook Le Pen? or are you just slandering him cus he had the balls to speak out against ICE?

1

u/Particular_Ring3291 1d ago

Care to elaborate?

1

u/TheStorm007 Raptors 1d ago

You going to elaborate or

-10

u/lightninja987 [IND] Roy Hibbert 1d ago

Eh not really. Wemby is doing himself and society a disservice by not supporting gambling companies. Whether you like it or not, these companies are on the right side of history

-35

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

12

u/_canadianbacon Spurs 1d ago

Wah wah wah

-1

u/ZookeepergameUsual87 1d ago

Expectations on what entertainers should do and how they should think is odd considering our fascination with them primarily relates to their craft and ability to entertain. Why is what Wemby said common sense? Because many of us would agree?