Victor Wembanyama’s jersey has misspelling of his name in first half vs. Warriors

Victor Wembanyama has a long last name. The entire basketball world is still getting used to the 10-letter word we in the media so frequently shorten to “Wemby” out of convenience, but there are certain people who don’t have that luxury. And they’re expected to get it right every time. Multiple sets of eyes typically ensure that any name is spelled correctly in print media, for example, and any business partners of the league of Wembanyama himself should obviously go to great lengths to ensure proper spelling.

But the one institution you’d assume would always get the name right would be the team that employs him: the Spurs themselves. And yet, somehow, the team managed to misfire when it produced his jersey for Friday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors with the wrong spelling. It is not, in fact, spelled “Wembanyana,” as the jersey he had on in the first half would have us believe.

Wembanyama’s name was misspelled on his jersey 😅

He has now switched to a correct one pic.twitter.com/j7Ge1qiG3L

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 25, 2023
It was corrected at some point during the second quarter, with Wembanyama wearing a jersey with his name spelled properly. Ultimately, the gaffe is harmless. It’s not as though it disturbed the game, the Spurs’ final In-Season Tournament contest against the Warriors. After the 118-112 loss, Wembanyama said after that he didn’t even realize the misspelling during the game, though he said it was a “real shame.”

If anything, it might even create some valuable memorabilia. Cards featuring the incorrect spelling will likely be treated as collector’s items, and if the Spurs wanted to auction the jersey itself off to fans, they would no-doubt fetch a bundle. Rarity is the name of the game when it comes to memorabilia, and the Spurs will almost certainly never misspell the name of their franchise player ever again.