Victor Wembanyama’s Photo Dump Has Some Fans Fearing an Impending Curse

In the world of sports, things can get superstitious. When the fate of an entire season can come down to a lucky—or unlucky—bounce of the ball, there’s no room to take any chances. Even someone like Victor Wembanyama, who possesses a huge amount of natural talent, can be hamstrung by the hand of fate.

With that in mind, the San Antonio Spurs rookie’s final photo dump of the offseason has some fans a bit nervous. While it looks like Wemby has been enjoying himself, a single photo with rapper Drake has raised the specter of a curse.

So what’s on the cards for Wembanyama? Let’s take a closer look.

Wembanyama May Have Courted the Drake Curse

Over the years, plenty of curses have earned a place in sports lore. Baseball boasted the Curse of the Bambino and the Curse of the Billy Goat. Hockey saw the Rangers afflicted with the Curse of 1940.

When it comes to modern bad mojo, though, Drake rules the roost.

As chronicled by FanDuel, the Canadian rapper seems to bring bad luck to his preferred teams. Whether we’re talking about Johnny Manziel—Drake dedicated a song to him, and Johnny Football flamed out of the NFL—Conor McGregor (who lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov after Drake appeared at the weigh-in), the 2016 Golden State Warriors or many athletes in between, getting Champagne Papi’s endorsement can be the beginning of the end.

Have there been exceptions? Of course. The Toronto Raptors and Crystal Palace, for example, seem to have avoided problems and found success. Those victories, however, haven’t stopped some fans from fearing the worst.

So you can imagine where some of the comments focused when Wembanyama shared a “random dump before the serious stuff begins” on Instagram. The lead photo of his carousel was, you guessed it, him and Drake.

While many comments focused on how the Spurs rookie towered over his famous acquaintance, others homed in on the potentially disastrous consequences of the photo.

User creablaye, for example, wrote, “The Drake Curse better not occur on you please don’t get injured this season brodie.” That comment had received more than 2,000 likes.

Further down in the comments section, daysleeprx had a desperate plea for Wemby, writing: “Dear god please stay away from Drake.”

Gucci.aquaman94 had a simple take with the same sentiment: “Someone get this guy away from Wemby.”

And when the image reached X (formerly Twitter), it received some similar responses.

Curse or Not, Wemby Has Some High Expectations

As his photo with Drake indicates, Wembanyama, 19, isn’t an ordinary rookie. The French phenom is entering the NBA with the weight of the (basketball) world on his shoulders.

Thanks to his unique blend of size and skill—Wemby clocks in at 7 feet, 4 inches, but he’s comfortable handling the ball, taking jumpers and otherwise playing on the perimeter—the teenager has been hailed as a generational talent. LeBron James, for example, called Wembanyama an alien rather than a unicorn. Stephen Curry compared the Frenchman to a custom-created video game character designed to have the skills of a point guard and the size of a center.

And it’s not just NBA stars who have noticed.

The Spurs, who took the center with the first overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft, have been catapulted into the national spotlight. As Andrew Lopez noted in an ESPN story, tickets and merchandise have sold like hotcakes. Fans even lined up around the block to watch the club’s preseason practice and scrimmage.

To that end, Wembanyama has more on his plate than the average lottery pick. Most prospects are supposed to be talented players, capable of taking their team to the next level. Wemby, however, has the weight of the entire NBA on his shoulders. It’s not enough to be a star. Basketball fans around the globe are expecting a generational talent.

With that much already waiting on Wembanyama’s to-do list, conquering the Drake Curse should be light work.