Wembanyama is to France’s Olympics what Matildas were to Australia’s World Cup
By Emma Kemp
The easiest way to ascertain which French athletes have the most local cut-through is by observing the bromances of Emmanuel Macron. No need to pick out familiar faces on the giant billboards, statues and street art accessorising the centre of Paris; simply follow the president’s Twitter account for exhaustive relationship timelines.
The first that springs to mind is, of course, Kylian Mbappe. Macron fostered a rapport with one of the world’s most distinguished footballers back when he was 19, perhaps recognising the public relations value of associating with the breakout star of France’s 2018 World Cup win. For the past several years, the connection has played out online and in person – at state occasions and other events, including one of the more mortifying pitchside embraces in Qatar after France’s 2022 World Cup final loss to Argentina.
Had Mbappe not left Paris Saint-Germain in May to depart the country, both literally and symbolically, and join a club in Real Madrid who refused to release him for the Olympics, the 25-year-old striker may well have become the face of these Games. Even then, however, it would have only been half about him and half about Macron’s more recent love interest.
This time last year, as Macron made overtures to keep Mbappe at PSG (he ultimately signed a one-year contract extension), he was also discreetly hosting Victor Wembanyama at the Elysee Palace just before the then 19-year-old’s first NBA draft. When San Antonio Spurs confirmed the young basketballer as the first Frenchman to be first pick, Macron tweeted. “You’re already making us dream,” he gushed. “No doubt about it: you’ll change the game!”
Eleven months later, when Wembanyama capped a remarkable first individual season with a unanimous vote to name him rookie of the year, Macron posted once more. “Make it iconic!” Promise kept @wemby, Rookie of the Year! French pride. Bring on the Paris Games!”
Wembanyama in action for Spurs during his rookie NBA season.Credit: Getty Images
Such deifying acclamations (it remains unclear if the president’s love is requited) do not originate purely from Macron’s enjoyment of sport. He is shrewd enough to understand the benefits of allying himself with sports stars widely loved by voters during a period of intense political upheaval that has left the fractured nation on the brink of parliamentary paralysis.
It is one of the oldest soft-power moves in the book, but it does also neatly highlight the Wembymania which, having already gripped the US, has now taken root in his native country. And for all the disruption and protests and logistical challenges, these Olympics have a unifying figure at their heart: a 20-year-old son of former athletes who grew up in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, coming home to a rock-star welcome underpinned by an optimism at odds with the general climate.
And as much as that translates into pressure on a French basketball team with middling recent results to better the silver medal they claimed in Tokyo, it is also a marker of a national obsession not unlike Australia had with the Matildas in 2023. That phenomenon which occurs when an athlete or team resonates equally with both devoted sports fans and peripheral followers. When the media coverage becomes blanket and everything is interesting, from the extension a hotel had to make to his (and Gobert’s) pre-camp hotel bed to his proclivity to rewatch Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. That Wembanyama scored 19 points in France’s win over Brazil in the Olympic opener on Saturday will only add to the fascination.
In pure sporting terms, Wembanyama has become bigger even than his 2.24-metre stature. One of those unicorn-esque beings who has actually met the already-inflated hype that greeted his NBA arrival, and then exceeded it. In record time.
Sports commentators have struggled to describe him, because even the word “unique” does not adequately capture a player who possesses the offensive game of his childhood idol Kevin Durant and the defensive skills of French national teammate Rudy Gobert.
It does not fully encapsulate the many court positions inside a single body, whose frame arguably should not have survived an 82-game debut season after transitioning directly from the less taxing French Pro A league, while also eclipsing the stats he’d posted for Metropolitans 92.
Wembanyama is skinny, yet dominant. Long enough to be considered a walking injury risk, yet flexible enough to be immune. Only LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and candidate for greatest of all time, could come up with a suitable moniker. The “Alien” alias bestowed by James is now so synonymous with Wemby that Nike this week unveiled a prototype for his signature shoe that looks every bit as if it dropped into Paris from another planet.
Wembanyama signs autographs for NBA fans.Credit: Getty Images
His monetary worth may soon be out of this world, too, for he is on a trajectory that could make him the first professional basketballer to earn $US1 billion ($AU1.5bn) on the court alone. While the likes of James, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson all have net worths of $1bn (and the late estate of Kobe Bryant is well on its way), all had the help of endorsement deals and other business ventures.
Wembanyama is projected to reach that figure by the age of 33 simply by playing (and staying injury-free. That is based on his current four-year, rookie $55 million contract with Spurs and predictions around the worth of future contracts, including the coveted ‘Supermax’ extension that allows clubs to retain high-performing players. He may yet get there sooner, depending how the NBA’s freshly minted $US76bn TV deal affects the salary cap over its 11-year life.
They are astronomical sums to consider, especially given there are no shortage of suitors clamouring to pay big bucks for him to promote their products. But this is the other appeal of Wembanyama: he has been selective with his brand partnerships, notably knocking back lucrative offers from Gatorade and BodyArmor in favour of up-and-coming plant-based sports drink Barcode, whor offered him the opportunity to invest. “Partnering with a brand that wouldn’t have been healthy and I wouldn’t drink would be inauthentic,” he said at the time. “That would be me losing my identity.”
And even at 20, when he is “still looking to find myself”, Wembanyama has already signalled his desire to use some of his earnings to help increase access to clean water in countries suffering severe shortages. This blend of world-class talent, charisma and authenticity together makes for rare cultural influence.
In June, for example, he joined Mbappe and other leading French athletes, many of whom come from immigrant backgrounds, in warning voters to “take a distance from extremes” amid the threat of far-right forces in the snap parliamentary elections.
Further afield, Wembanyama’s bilingualism and universal admiration (Britney Spears is apparently a fan) also makes him a walking international advertisement for French exceptionalism - whether he realises it or not. And while his prospects for (likely unwitting) geopolitical influence can be debated, you can be assured Macron has already thought of that.
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