Wembanyama Says He Will Never Promote A Betting Company
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama said on October 1, 2026 that he will never promote a sports betting company, telling reporters at Spurs training camp that he finds it "very sad to see some players promote it," when asked a general question about athletes and gambling sponsorships.
The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year did not name any player directly, but his comments came roughly four weeks after LeBron James signed a multi-year endorsement deal with prediction market platform Polymarket, reported by Front Office Sports to be worth around $15 million a year and focused on promoting football markets.
What Wembanyama Said
"Absolutely not," Wembanyama said when asked if he would ever promote a gambling company, before adding, "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."
Wembanyama has previously turned down endorsement offers he felt did not match his values, while still signing other commercial deals, including a new Nike agreement that features his own signature sneaker line.
The Backdrop: James' Polymarket Deal
James' Polymarket partnership, announced in early September, drew scrutiny in part because it pays him more annually than his two-year, $8 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers combined for one season.
Polymarket operates as a prediction market rather than a licensed sportsbook, a distinction that has put the platform at the center of a wider U.S. regulatory debate over whether such products should be treated as gambling.
Wembanyama's comments add a prominent active player's voice to an ongoing conversation in American sports about athlete endorsements of betting and prediction-market platforms, following criticism from some fans and commentators after James' deal was announced.
The Wider Prediction-Market Debate
Polymarket operates as a prediction market rather than a licensed sportsbook, a structure that has let it expand into sports-related contracts in the United States even as traditional sportsbooks remain subject to state-by-state gambling licensing.
The platform's rapid growth, alongside rivals like Kalshi, has drawn scrutiny from state gambling regulators and, in Kalshi's case, from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, over whether prediction markets should be treated the same as regulated sports betting products.
James signed his Polymarket deal weeks after retiring speculation resurfaced around his basketball future, and some fans and media figures questioned whether a 41-year-old future Hall of Famer fronting a betting-adjacent product sent the wrong message to younger fans.
Wembanyama, the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and last season's Defensive Player of the Year, has built a reputation for turning down lucrative deals that do not match his personal values, even as he maintains an active endorsement portfolio including his new signature Nike sneaker line.
