Victor Wembanyama "heartbroken" about the increasingly frequent trend of NBA stars endorsing prediction markets and sports betting advertisements..

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama expressed that he finds the increasingly frequent trend of NBA stars endorsing prediction markets and sports betting advertisements "heartbreaking" In an interview with The Athletic on Tuesday.

While he did not publicly name the specific players involved in such endorsements, the San Antonio Spurs player made it clear that he would never endorse companies or advertisements that "go against [his] values." He reiterated that although everyone has the right to "do what they want," he is nonetheless saddened by the prevalence of this trend.

Wembanyama said: "Absolutely not, I would never do those things. Honestly, seeing some players choose to endorse those kinds of ads is sad. I know everyone has the right to do whatever they want, but you can count me out of that."

Although he did not mention names, the players Wembanyama was criticizing were clearly Philadelphia 76ers superstar LeBron James and Miami Heat star power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In early September, James announced via social media that he would become the second NBA player, following Boston Celtics legend Rajon Rondo, to endorse the U.S. prediction market company Polymarket. The endorsement deal was reportedly worth $15 million.

Earlier, in February, Giannis Antetokounmpo had also announced a partnership with the prediction market company Kalshi, becoming a shareholder in the process.

Besides Giannis Antetokounmpo, another sports superstar who chose to endorse the company was Argentine legend Lionel Messi.

Messi's endorsement of Kalshi had already sparked intense criticism within the soccer world, so it was inevitable that James and Giannis following in his footsteps would also draw backlash. 

Separately, The Athletic added in another report that while James, Rondo, and Giannis' prediction markets endorsements deals did not explicitly violate official NBA rules, they set a poor precedent by having professional basketball players promote sports betting.

The article further mentioned that this controversial promotional activity would undoubtedly deal another blow to the league's reputation, which is already attempting to recover from the scandal involving the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard over alleged salary cap circumvention.

Image source: Internet / The Athletic