Charles Barkley Makes Emotional Admission About Victor Wembanyama

Regardless of the outcome of this year’s NBA Finals, it appears the NBA has found the face of the league for years to come in San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama led the Spurs to the NBA Finals as the unanimous Western Conference Finals MVP, taking down the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder in seven games. After San Antonio’s Game 7 victory at Oklahoma City’s Paycom Center, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman showed an outpouring of emotion as he celebrated with his teammates.

This outward passion and emotion was a refreshing sight for many NBA fans, including Charles Barkley.

During an appearance with ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday morning, Barkley said Wembanyama’s passion “almost brought tears” to his eyes.

"The emotion that kid showed after game 7, it almost brought tears to me eyes. I was like ‘the NBA is in a great place having that kid as the face of our league for the next 20 years,'” Barkley said. “His emotion, it was so incredible. … It made me so proud that that guy is going to be the face of our league for the next 20 years.”

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After this strong praise for Wembanyama, Barkley still picked the Knicks to secure their first NBA title since 1973.

“That being said, I still like the Knicks to win this series,” Barkley said. “I picked the Knicks in six because this is just a bad matchup for the Spurs.”

More Basketball:Knicks' Josh Hart Made NBA Finals History in Game 1

The Knicks stole Game 1 on the road, notching a 105-95 final score at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 1:39 PM.