Victor Wembanyama isn’t shutting out American media, but he may be done talking about NBA Finals loss

As we move closer to the start of the NBA season, it’s time to start thinking about Victor Wembanyama again. The 22-year-old is one of the most fascinating athletes in all of sports, and after a run to the NBA Finals last year, poised for a big season that could begin to shape what could go down as quite a legacy.

He also, apparently, doesn’t want to talk that much right now.

At least that was the thinking after a clip from Tuesday’s episode of the Hoop Collective podcast began circulating on social media. In the clip, ESPN writer Michael C. Wright implied that Wembanyama would be limiting his access to media this year.

“I’m hearing that Victor does not want to talk about what happened in the Finals. I’m hearing he’s like, locked in. He’s locked in. As a matter of fact, I was told that he hasn’t even, he’s not talking to any American media outlets except for 60 Minutes. I’m curious to see what the 60 Minutes is, but yeah, it affected him in a way.”

Victor Wembanyama is reportedly locked in after losing the Finals and is refusing to speak to any American media outlet except ’60 Minutes’, per @mikecwright

“He’s locked in. As a matter of fact, I was told he’s not even talking to any American media outlets except for 60 Minutes.”

— NBABase (@TheNBABase) October 6, 2026

Understandably, that clip went somewhat viral, spawning aggregated stories with headlines like, “Victor Wembanyama is reportedly freezing out all U.S. media outlets except 1” and “Victor Wembanyama Reportedly Refusing American Media Interaction With One Exception” and plenty more. This makes sense! The clip making the rounds sure does make it sound like that’s what is happening here, and to an extent, that is the case.

But just a few minutes later in that same podcast, another moment, that was notably not subject to the same viral clipping, clarified a bit on Wright’s meaning.

Brian Windhorst followed up by asking Wright whether Wembanyama intended to shut out the media on the Spurs’ upcoming media day, or if he would speak to reporters as expected.

“I think he is, he has no choice,” Wright said. “But I’m saying up to this point, he’s totally locked in. He does not want to talk about the Finals. He’s only talking to 60 Minutes, apparently. I don’t know what’s going on.”

That Wembanyama would be talking at Spurs media day had already been confirmed by the time the podcast aired, as he had already done so. The podcast was recorded before Spurs media day (September 28), so it was an open question at the time, but by the time it aired, Wemby had already taken part in several media scrums.

Wright further clarified the point he was trying to make on social media.

Vic’s had multiple media sessions since that time. But during offseason leading into camp and media day, 60 minutes is only US outlet he had done.

— Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) October 6, 2026

So there you have it. Wembanyama isn’t shutting out American media on an ongoing basis this season, as far as anyone can tell. He did seem extremely selective with the media he did in the offseason, and it sounds like he chose 60 Minutes to address any talk of last year’s Finals, and he wants to move forward from there.

This, while a bit of a bummer, isn’t uncommon. We get guys at the podium giving some version of an “I already addressed that” comment all the time, and often without a literal 60 Minutes interview worth of information already on the record. We’ll see just how much Wemby revealed in that interview whenever it runs, and his preference does not mean that he will not be asked about last season by reporters, just that he might not be all that interested in answering.

It makes sense that Wembanyama might not want to talk much about the Finals. The Spurs held double-digit leads in every game of their series against the Knicks, and lost 4–1. Wembanyama’s miscues were central to several of their collapses. It’s no surprise that he’s trying to put that chapter behind him and move forward. But when the Spurs return to Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day, you can bet Wembanyama will face questions about what happened in June.

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