Victor Wembanyama's persona is elite, too

He obviously has the talent, skill and drive to be an all-time great. But Victor also carries a presence fusing professionalism and candid brashness that could fuel his fame even more.

Good morning. We're talking about podiums. Not the game: podiums. Let's basketball.

A common complaint from some NBA fans is that modern stars are too "media-trained." As opposed to the brash, cocky elite players of the past, modern stars have been trained from a young age to act more professionally off the court, which strips a lot of evident personality away. This trend, fostered over decades and probably beneficial to the stars themselves in order to maximize endorsement deals and post-playing career opportunities, has made everything more boring. Few stars share much interesting insight in post-game media availability; fewer stars sit down for big in-depth profiles once they hit it big. This makes someone like Anthony Edwards, who is totally unfiltered, seem more charismatic. His charm is in his unpredictability and brashness.

Another twist on this lament is that foreign-born stars for whom English is a second (or third) language are more prevalent and powerful than ever. Victor Wembanyama, universally consider the Next Big Thing, has both elements working against him. He is French, of course, and while his mastery of English is good, he appears to be more careful speaking it than when he conducts an interview in his native tongue. He also appears to have gone through media finishing school, with a presence that feels as milquetoast as (no offense!) any of the current young NBA players who came through Duke or UConn. (I really, truly mean no offense! This is observation, not critique.)

Here's the thing: despite the language barrier and the clear professionalism, Victor is tapping into real charisma, brashness and personality. The content of his comments can be biting, and his self-confidence is more evident everyday. This week's case from the podium as to why he should be considered the MVP frontrunner is the best example yet. He patronized those who would consider Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Nikola Jokic over them by saying his goal is to end the debate by the time the season ends. He diminished Shai's scoring prowess as an incomplete indicator of offensive impact. He called himself the most impactful defender in the league. (No one would disagree with this.) And he reminded everyone that his Spurs beat the Thunder's asses four times in five games.

He did that gently, he did it in a way that made his point clear without looking like a blowhard and he probably changed some votes. It's a masterpiece of fusion between unfiltered content and the personification of professionalism. You can't imagine someone on the professionalist side (say, Shai or Jayson Tatum) saying those things about rival players and you can't imagine someone on the candid side (say, Anthony Edwards or Russell Westbrook) saying something so cutting this gently.

Jaylen Brown might be the closest thing we have to Wembanyama in terms of mixing an edge with this style of presentation, but Brown's edge really comes through. You know that dude argued with professors or TAs at Cal. Older players have also wound their way to this style: LeBron and Kevin Durant were firmly in the professionalist camp until they became so famous they stopped caring as much. Durant has a completely different podium persona than he did 15 years ago. As he should! He's also basically Ant Man with those Twitter fingers.

In any case, this is just another wrinkle in assessments of Wembanayama as The One. The obvious magnetism and a supreme self-belief he's not afraid to hide could carry him to the rarest heights of fame. The talent and skill levels are otherworldly. He's literally a larger than life presence on the court; anyone can immediately recognize him due to his length. But persona separates the sports famous from the globally famous, the Jordans from the Clydes, the Kobes from the Duncans, the LeBrons from the Dirks. Wembanyama is set up to dominate there, too; to be a Shohei, a Messi, a LeBron, a Kobe, a Jordan. All he really needs to get to that level is to start winning championships.

And on that note, his team is definitely in the mix this year, in Year 3. Gods help the rest of them.

Scores

Kings 90, Hornets 134 – Charlotte put up 134 ... and didn't score for the last three minutes of the game. In fact, the Hornets scored 21 in the fourth (pure garbage time) ... and still won the quarter by seven. The Kings are not good!

Pelicans 116, Knicks 121 – New York has a strong chance to be the No. 2 seed in the East and, frankly, the Eastern Conference champions. So I will say that Jalen Brunson is not getting quite the level of adulation you'd expect. Masterpiece fourth quarter from him.

Magic 131, Cavaliers 136 – Another loss for Orlando, who is now tied with Charlotte and Miami with 34 defeats.

Last year's No. 2 defense is now No. 15. Just mind-blowing. They have to make changes this offseason (barring a miracle playoff run) and should be No. 1 with a bullet in the Giannis sweepstakes.

Like Brunson, Donovan Mitchell is quietly a total beast.

Nuggets 125, Suns 123 – Incredible shotmaking in the final minute here until Devin Booker finally missed one.

23-17-17 and the game-winner for Jokic. Sheesh.

Links

A ProPublica follow-up on new Blazers owner Tom Dundon's role in nasty lending practices that earned a 2020 sanction from Oregon ... the same state he's now seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from to refurbish the Blazers' arena.

The players' association, which approved Adam Silver's Player Participation Policy, is now blasting it and calling for reform as it becomes evident that a few high-level players will be ineligible for All-NBA ballots.

The union is also calling out the Bucks for their alleged refusal to let Giannis play again this season. Weird twist in that story: Antetokounmpo was apparently adamant that he didn't want to be shut down even though Milwaukee is out of the postseason race, and the Bucks seem to be fighting him, and now Giannis got the union involved? Weird twist.

Paul Flannery on having patience with Jayson Tatum's comeback.

LeBron and his excellent memory on Track Star* remembering some musicians. Getting stumped by ABBA is hilarious. Gotta get Mamma Mia! starring the GOAT Meryl Streep on the team plane.

Basketball-Reference found evidence that Wilt Chamberlain blocked 446 shots in his final season before blocks were an official stat, the second-most all-time in a single year.

Kelly Dwyer on how various trade deadline pickups are looking.

Tom Haberstroh on the Cavaliers' elite offense.

John Schuhmann's weekly power rankings.

Schedule

Sorry for missing the schedule yesterday. All times Eastern. Highlight games in bold. Tank battles in italics.

Hawks at Pistons, 7, ESPN
Lakers at Pacers, 7
Bulls at Sixers, 7
Thunder at Celtics, 7:30
Heat at Cavaliers, 7:30
Spurs at Grizzlies, 8
Wizards at Jazz, 9
Rockets at Timberwolves, 9:30, ESPN
Mavericks at Nuggets, 10
Nets at Warriors, 10
Bucks at Blazers, 10
Raptors at Clippers, 10:30

Be excellent to each other.