In pure sporting terms, Wembanyama has become bigger even than his 2.24-metre stature. One of those unicorn-esque beings who has actually met the already-inflated hype that greeted his NBA arrival, and then exceeded it. In record time.

Sports commentators have struggled to describe him, because even the word “unique” does not adequately capture a player who possesses the offensive game of his childhood idol Kevin Durant and the defensive skills of French national teammate Rudy Gobert.

It does not fully encapsulate the many court positions inside a single body, whose frame arguably should not have survived an 82-game debut season after transitioning directly from the less taxing French Pro A league, while also eclipsing the stats he’d posted for Metropolitans 92.

Wembanyama is skinny, yet dominant. Long enough to be considered a walking injury risk, yet flexible enough to be immune. Only LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and candidate for greatest of all time, could come up with a suitable moniker. The “Alien” alias bestowed by James is now so synonymous with Wemby that Nike this week unveiled a prototype for his signature shoe that looks every bit as if it dropped into Paris from another planet.

His monetary worth may soon be out of this world, too, for he is on a trajectory that could make him the first professional basketballer to earn $US1 billion ($AU1.5bn) on the court alone. While the likes of James, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson all have net worths of $1bn (and the late estate of Kobe Bryant is well on its way), all had the help of endorsement deals and other business ventures.

Wembanyama is projected to reach that figure by the age of 33 simply by playing (and staying injury-free. That is based on his current four-year, rookie $55 million contract with Spurs and predictions around the worth of future contracts, including the coveted ‘Supermax’ extension that allows clubs to retain high-performing players. He may yet get there sooner, depending how the NBA’s freshly minted $US76bn TV deal affects the salary cap over its 11-year life.

They are astronomical sums to consider, especially given there are no shortage of suitors clamouring to pay big bucks for him to promote their products. But this is the other appeal of Wembanyama: he has been selective with his brand partnerships, notably knocking back lucrative offers from Gatorade and BodyArmor in favour of up-and-coming plant-based sports drink Barcode, whor offered him the opportunity to invest. “Partnering with a brand that wouldn’t have been healthy and I wouldn’t drink would be inauthentic,” he said at the time. “That would be me losing my identity.”

And even at 20, when he is “still looking to find myself”, Wembanyama has already signalled his desire to use some of his earnings to help increase access to clean water in countries suffering severe shortages. This blend of world-class talent, charisma and authenticity together makes for rare cultural influence.

In June, for example, he joined Mbappe and other leading French athletes, many of whom come from immigrant backgrounds, in warning voters to “take a distance from extremes” amid the threat of far-right forces in the snap parliamentary elections.

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Further afield, Wembanyama’s bilingualism and universal admiration (Britney Spears is apparently a fan) also makes him a walking international advertisement for French exceptionalism – whether he realises it or not. And while his prospects for (likely unwitting) geopolitical influence can be debated, you can be assured Macron has already thought of that.

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