Wemby says no to betting ads, and Stephen A. calls it 'PROFOUND respect'

Victor Wembanyama's decision to keep his name off betting sites gave First Take its subject, and the comment section turned into a long conversation about gambling in sports.

Channel: NBA on ESPNStory of October 3, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 340,960 views a day, 11 times a normal first day on this channel (30,512).

Stephen A. weighs in on Wemby not promoting betting sites: Deserves PROFOUND respect! | First Take

A refusal drew the crowd. Victor Wembanyama has said he will not promote betting sites, and on First Take Stephen A. Smith, Marcus "Swagu" Spears and host Shae Cornette took up his stance. Stephen A.'s verdict went straight into the title: the San Antonio Spurs star, he says, deserves profound respect.

The clip reached nearly 240,000 views in its first twelve hours, on a channel where a new video of this kind usually ends its whole first day near 30,000. Its comments moved even faster. More than a thousand arrived in those twelve hours, about ten times what a usual video here collects in a full day.

Most of them are not really about basketball. Viewers write about families they say gambling has hurt, about being tired of betting ads during games, and about a player who turned down money he could have had. Some say they are buying his jersey without being Spurs fans. A few point out the irony of the debate airing on ESPN, which has promoted betting itself.

It is the second Stephen A. clip in a few days to carry the channel, after his LeBron-to-the-Knicks idea, as we reported here. The rest of the feed stayed with lighter fare, such as a short of Herb Jones refusing to end up on a LeBron poster.

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The numbers

A twelve-hour start like this is rare for a First Take segment on this channel, and the comment count stands out even more.

the video's first day

usual first day here

30,512

this video

340,960

subscribers

2,180,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

2,448,396,433

views per day

1,561,639

typical day: 789,748

the video

views

237,596

likes

2,069

comments

1,055

days online

1

compared with similar channels (subscribers)

The Pat McAfee Show

3,000,000

Highlight Reel

2,950,000

Speakeasy

2,610,000

FOX Sports

2,330,000

NBA on ESPN

2,180,000

TNT Sports US

2,030,000

As of October 3, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.

Where next?

Also in American sports leagues and mediaVideo taking off 18x its usual first dayTodd Monken and Denzel Ward take the TNF desk after Cleveland beats PittsburghThe Browns' coach and their Ohio-born cornerback sat in with Prime Video's crew, and the comment section filled up with Cleveland talking back.Channel: Sports On Prime · Story of October 3, 2026 A different discovery todayVideo taking off 118x its usual first daySteve Chapman's 'ridiculous talk about a pointless project' turns out to be about lost catsThe artist's TEDxRoyal Tunbridge Wells talk sets out to do something only because it could, and ends up asking what makes us human.Channel: TEDx Talks · Story of October 3, 2026