Who will be the next face of the NBA? As legends come to the end of their careers, discover the players likely to take their place as the face of the league!
Since the inception of the NBA in the 1940s, there has always been an abundance of superstars throughout the league capturing the attention of fans across America and the wider world. Whether it was Bill Russell in the 1960s, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the ’70s, Magic Johnson in the ’80s, or Michael Jordan in the ’90s, there has always been a standout player that represents the league and is known worldwide.
Currently, the NBA has superstars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and James Harden coming to the end of their careers. With exciting new talent emerging and dominating the league, the big question is, who’s going to take their place and become the next face of the NBA?
We’ve looked at the data and pulled together an index of the most likely players to become legends in the MNA and take the mantle from the established players as they move out of the limelight.
What does the data tell us?
In our index, we’ve looked at various metrics to decide which players are going to become the next faces of the NBA. Though assists, rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage are important, we’ve prioritized looking at players’ career points per game due to this being more likely to win over fans.
Our index also takes into account YouTube search volume, because who doesn’t love watching compilations of their favorite stars dominating on the court? So, here’s the next generation of superstars that are most likely to dominate the league for years to come.
1. Luka Doncic
First place in our index and the most likely player to be the future face of the NBA is the Slovenian star, Luka Doncic, who has a near perfect marketability score of 98. The Lakers point guard is already a huge presence within the league after making a name for himself with the Dallas Mavericks.
He dominates the index with an average points per game of 29.2, placing him clearly at the top of this metric, also coming in second place for the most Instagram followers with 10,890,196.
Though not topping all metrics, he’s also first for online mentions with 3,054,860 – 307,020 more than the next-most.
2. Victor Wembanyama
Second spot on our index goes to San Antonio Spurs center, Victor Wembanyama, with a high marketability score of 95. Considering the Spurs reached the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks and were at one point NBA betting favourites to win the title, it’s no surprise that Wembanyama has ended up near the top of this list, being integral to their season.
As one of the newest stars in the NBA, he perhaps-understandably ranks as having the highest YouTube search volume, with many being keen to see what the 22-year-old Frenchman can do. Similarly, he’s second for online mentions (2,747,840) and has accrued the third-highest Google search volume with 3,202,150 searches.
3. Anthony Edwards
Completing the podium for the upcoming faces of the NBA is Anthony Edwards, a four-time NBA All-Star for the Minnesota Timberwolves. After achieving a marketability score of 91, he’s the final player in our index with a score higher than 90.
Edwards’ Google search volume is significantly higher than the next player’s, with his figure of 5,538,340 giving him more searches 1,872,710.
Though only ranking first for one metric, he has the third-highest YouTube search volume (2,292,060) and fourth-highest points per game (24.6), giving him a strong standing compared to other talents on this list.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
Power forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo, is next up on the index and just misses out on the podium places with a marketability score of 86. After being a strong presence in the league since joining the Bucks in 2013, it’s no surprise he’s up there among the best. With a move to the Miami Heat ahead of the 2026/27 NBA season too, interest in the player will certainly heat up as he joins a bigger franchise.
He easily tops the charts as the most followed player on Instagram after gaining a following of 16,098,122 – more than five million more than the player with the second-most!
Despite having such a large Instagram following, Giannis is let down slightly by only having the tenth most YouTube searches (1,432,090) and the eighth most online mentions (1,329,580), leaving him just outside of the top three.
5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Completing the top five on our index is Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (aka SGA), with a marketability score of 82. Considering that the Canadian is a four-time NBA All-Star, a four-time All-NBA First Team member, and two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, it should be no surprise to NBA fans that he makes the top five.
His standout metric in our index is his average of 25.3 points per game, placing him only second to Luka Doncic’s tally of 29.2. SGA also has the second-highest Google search volume (3,665,630) after Anthony Edwards, further strengthening his position on the index.
His only letdowns that prevent him from placing higher are the fact that he’s ranked seventh for YouTube search volume (1,648,340), and eighth for Instagram followers (5,079,738).
6. Ja Morant
Narrowly missing out on a top five position is point guard, Ja Morant, who achieves a total marketability score of 77. With his rise in status since his draft in 2019, it doesn’t come as a surprise that he features here, having won the Rookie of the Year award in 2020 and being an all-star in 2022.
Our index has Morant ranking fourth for his Instagram following (9,351,622) and fifth for YouTube search volume (1,900,490), giving a strong case for him to place in sixth position overall.
His tenth-place ranking for Google search volume (1,894,710) and 15th-place ranking for online mentions (713,820) prevent him from reaching any higher on our index and keep him out of the top five.
Off the back of an impressive regular season, he’s earned a move to the Portland Trail Blazers, meaning he’ll be teaming up with Damian Lillard for the 2026/27 campaign. It will be interesting to see if the trade can help him to overcome the injuries and achieve his superstar potential.
7. Cooper Flagg
Placing seventh on our index, Cooper Flagg is narrowly behind Ja Morant with a marketability score of 76. The 19-year-old Dallas Mavericks star has had a meteoric rise since his draft pick in 2025, racking up some impressive stats in his career so far.
Flagg has become highly talked about throughout his short spell in the NBA, registering the second-most YouTube search volume (2,350,240) and a Google search volume of 2,473,600 – the fifth most.
Due to him not having much time to establish himself to date, he’s only managed to gain 1,874,880 followers on Instagram (the 14th most). Pairing this with his slightly lower 21 points per game – which leaves him 13th on the index – it’s currently hard for him to place higher.
However, with a long career ahead of him, he has plenty of time to become a more significant presence in the league and rise up the ranks for each of these metrics.
8. LaMelo Ball
Eighth place on the index is filled by LaMelo Ball, with a total marketability score of 75 – just shy of Cooper Flagg’s. After his draft in 2020, he’s had a lot of hype surrounding him, with his talents being recognized through receiving the rookie of the year award in 2021 and being named in the NBA All-Star game in 2022.
Ball places in the top three on our index for Instagram followers with 10,631,507, and his YouTube search volume of 1,848,630 puts him in sixth overall. However, he ranks 16th for online mentions with only 668,720, and his 20.8 points per game place him in 14th for this metric.
After staying healthy and managing to play 72 games in the 2025/26 regular season – the most since the 2021/22 season – he’s been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves. With this move, it means that we’ll see him linking up with Anthony Edwards throughout the 2026/27 NBA season, potentially making for a lethal partnership.
9. Jalen Brunson
Especially after winning the 2025/26 NBA Championship with the New York Knicks, it’s understandable that Jalen Brunson’s name has cropped up in this list. With a marketability score of 69, he ends up in ninth place on the index.
His strongest ranking in the index was his online mentions where he ranked third overall, totaling 2,275,780. But, placing 16th for average points per game (19.2) and 13th for Instagram followers with 2,025,615 keeps him towards the back end of the top ten and prevents him from ranking any higher.
Heading into the 2026/27 NBA season, Brunson will no doubt want to continue his good form and help the Knicks to win back-to-back NBA titles.
10. Jaylen Brown
Finally, completing the top ten is Jaylen Brown, who achieves a total marketability score of 66. After a season filling in for Jayson Tatum while he recovered from an ACL injury, Brown finished the season with career-high scoring, rebounds, and assists per game.
On the index, Brown ranks fourth for online mentions with 1,510,120 and seventh for Google search volume (1,915,000). But, with other metrics such as ranking 15th for an average points per game of 20 and tenth for Instagram followers with 3,953,115, it keeps him restricted to tenth place.
After being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, Brown will look to continue the top form that he demonstrated at the Celtics last season as he looks to be the next face of the NBA.
What do the fans say?
Despite the data, the fans have a different opinion on who will be the next face of the NBA.
We surveyed basketball fans in the United States and Canada to gain their thoughts regarding the next face of the NBA.
The findings from 1,000 Canadian respondents can be seen below.
What’s the consensus in Canada?
Victor Wembanyama takes top spot as the player most Canadian NBA fans think will become the face of the NBA in years to come. With 16% of respondents selecting him, the San Antonio Spurs star received the highest number of responses of any player.
The survey placed Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the Oklahoma City Thunder in second place, receiving votes from 13% of respondents.
Third place is shared by Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards and the Lakers’ Luka Doncic, who both had 9% of respondents choose them to be the next face of the NBA. Fourth place is occupied by Miami Heat’s new star Giannis Antetokounmpo after receiving 8% of people’s votes. Then in fifth place is another tie, with both Jayson Tatum and Nikola Jokic receiving 5% of the votes.
Finally, to complete the top ten, it’s a four-way tie between Jalen Williams, Jaylen Brown, Dylan Harper, and Jalen Brunson after each got votes from 4% of respondents.
So, while Wembanyama leads the vote, the small percentages across the rankings suggest that there is no overwhelming favorite among fans as to who the next face of the NBA will be.
What do different age ranges in Canada think?
Looking at each age range, we can see who they believe will be the next NBA superstar, with the answer varying between each age bracket.
The youngest age range (21-24) appears to support the overall opinion, with the largest portion of these respondents (26%) choosing Wembanyama as the next face of the NBA. Similarly, the 25-34, 35-44, and 45-54 age groups also had the majority supporting the French basketball star, with 15%, 17%, and 15% of their respondents having the same confidence in the player’s abilities.
As we look into the older age groups, however, this is when the opinion starts to change. 55-64-year-olds have the majority of their respondents choosing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over Wembanyama, with SGA getting 22% of the votes from this age group. Again, the same can be said about people over the age of 65, with 30% of respondents in this group voting for SGA, suggesting he’s made more of an impression on older NBA fans.
What do different genders in Canada think?
Much like age, gender also appears to change which players are favored to be the next leading players in the NBA when looking at the split between male and female respondents.
Like the consensus, the largest proportion of male NBA fans chose Wembanyama as the player they think will become the next face of the league, with 21% of their votes going to the Frenchman. Similarly, the next-largest share of votes (18%) went for SGA, maintaining the order established in the topline survey data.
Female fans, however, differed in their opinions, with the largest portion of their votes (12%) going to Anthony Edwards instead. Their second-most-voted-for player was a tie between Wembanyama, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, with each receiving 9% of female votes. This seemingly shows that it’s a more divisive topic among female NBA fans, with opinions being much more split than within the male fanbase.
Will the departure of NBA legends affect viewership in Canada?
As we go further into the survey, it becomes clear that fans have split opinions on who the next generation of NBA stars will be, as many receive the same number of votes. If anything, however, it highlights the abundance of quality talent the league has, meaning its future will be in safe hands and is unlikely to be impacted by the departure of its current stars.
This is clear when we can see that only 6% of fans would watch the NBA significantly less once LeBron James departs, with the majority of fans (70%) saying they would watch the NBA the same way they do currently.
Different age ranges also have similar opinions here, with over half of all age groups feeling they would watch the NBA the same as they do now once LeBron leaves. However, 55-64-year-olds felt this way most strongly, with a whopping 86% of respondents stating they would watch the NBA in the same way. When looking at the largest number of respondents to watch the NBA less, though, it’s the 21-24 age range that is most likely to do so, with 26% saying they wouldn’t tune in as much.
Looking at gender tells a somewhat similar story, with 71% of male fans and 70% of female fans saying they’d also watch the league the same way they do now, and 6% of both genders saying they would watch the NBA significantly less.
Who is the next face of the NBA?
Well, despite the data and fans having slightly differing opinions on who will be the face of the NBA in years to come, it’s clear that there are still many stars in the league even if the established legends move on.
With young talents like Victor Wembanyama establishing himself as one of the best players in the league and Cooper Flagg building his reputation, it’s safe to say that the NBA is in safe hands for many years to come. But, with so many talented players showcasing their abilities week after week, which players, if any, will be able to match or surpass the legacies of Michael Jordan or LeBron James?
Methodology
Data:
Using desk research, we sourced the top-performing young NBA players, as well as other players who are considered to still be in their athletic prime. The following data was then collected for each player:
Career points per game (ESPN)
Instagram followers
Google search volume (Keywordtool.io)
YouTube search volume (Keywordtool.io)
Online mentions in social posts and news articles (Brandwatch)
Each player was then scored based on how they performed in each metric. These scores were then added up to create a normalized “Total Marketability Score”.
The players were ranked highest to lowest based on their “Total Marketability Score”.
*Data correct as of 26th June 2026.
Survey:
The survey was conducted by 3Gem between 26th June and 6th July and interviewed 1,000 Canadians who were sports fans and over the age of 21.
