Hyping players often leads to a lot of unnecessary vitriol. They were compared to previous stars and their playing styles were questioned as if they weren’t first-year players entering the league. Victor Wembanyama had to shoulder that responsibility immediately after being drafted by Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs. He has been compared to LeBron James and Michael Jordan of the Los Angeles Lakers, and some have even boldly suggested that his career could be like that of Greg Oden. All of this was addressed in Winby’s season debut against the Dallas Mavericks. It might even be a good thing for fans to tune in to companies like ESPN.
Victor Wembunyama remains a player that many people want to watch, and not just Tottenham fans. He broke the NBA Summer League viewership record and still holds that record through 82 games. According to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch, the Spurs star’s debut against the Mavericks averaged 2.99 million viewers during its live broadcast on ESPN.
It was the most-watched first-week game since LeBron James’ Lakers faced James Harden’s Houston Rockets in 2018. That game isn’t over yet. James’ first home game in purple and gold attracted 3.36 million viewers. However, the Spurs’ franchise player still has a lot of games left in his career. At some point in the future, can he break the ratings record of “The King”?