Adam Minter, Columnist

The NBA Has a Victor Wembanyama Problem to Solve

April 19, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of sports. He is the author, most recently, of “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."

All eyes on a marvel.
Photographer: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America

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What stands out most about San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama in his National Basketball Association playoff debut on Sunday night might not be how he plays, but who has to stay up to watch. Tipoff will land in prime time, at 8 p.m. CDT, for American viewers. In France, where he’s a national icon, that’s 3 a.m. Monday, forcing his most devoted fans to work around a schedule built for Texas.

That timing says a lot about how the NBA views its fanbase. The league has spent decades building audiences abroad, but it still saves the biggest moments for viewers in the US. Wembanyama, a 7-foot-4-inch marvel, is making it clear why that America-first approach is a losing strategy.