It is increasingly rare in the NBA (and professional sports as a whole) for a star athlete to sit down for an extended, on-the-record interview. While athletes have found other means of communicating with fans, such interviews can offer rare, less-filtered glimpses into what the player is going through both on and off the court. Few players in any sport can say they've had a more eventful last few years than Victor Wembanyama.
The San Antonio Spurs star reached his first NBA Finals last season and, in the process became a villain to fans across the world rooting for the New York Knicks to end their 53-year championship drought. He ultimately fell short in that matchup, but is now ascending to his seemingly inevitable place as the future face of the NBA. With the 2026-27 season only just beginning, Wembanyama sat down with CBS News' "60 Minutes" to discuss his career thus far.
Here are five highlights: Sponsorships are a standard component of the superstar experience. Wembanyama has been intentionally choosy about who and what he has aligned himself with. In the past, he has made it clear that he would never work with a soda company, for instance, because he does not want to promote unhealthy products.
In Sunday's interview, he took aim at athletes promoting different vices. "I think as an NBA player, and if you're amongst the stars of this league, you really make your career whatever you want to make it," he said. "Of course, you're always going to do your best on the court, the best that you can.
But on the side, you can choose to be the influencer, you can choose to be the philanthropist, you can choose to be the guy who's gonna promote gambling and alcohol. You can choose whatever you want." When asked what choice he has made, Wembanyama reiterated that health is his guiding principle. "I think my choice isn't final because I'm still growing as a person," he said.
"But I want to promote healthy things, and by healthy, I don't just mean the food, but healthy habits, things that make people's lives better. And in the future, things that also make society better." The public perception of Wembanyama changed quite a bit over the course of a single postseason. He was one of the league's breakout stars last season, and his consistent success over the widely disliked Oklahoma City Thunder earned him quite a bit of admiration from casual fans.
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