Desmond Bane came to work today to make the disciplinary office do overtime. While fans usually eat up his ‘junkyard dog’ persona, there’s one player they draw a line at. That’s Victor Wembanyama. Since blood clots prematurely ended his 2025 DPOY campaign, fans are very protective of him. So while the league punished Bane for harming Wemby, fans are still mad at him.

The incident occurred late in the third quarter of the San Antonio Spurs vs. Orlando Magic game. The Spurs were up 76-81 during this play when a San Antonio player grabbed a rebound and drove to the basket. Wembanyama was running ahead when Magic guard Desmond Bane deliberately came in his way and bulldozed into Wemby.

From some angles, it appears Bane’s elbow rammed into the French star’s midrib. Although Bane is a whole foot shorter, he’s a tank that can take down an alien. The off-the-ball contact sent Wemby rolling several feet. His teammates even rushed to him, and the refs called it immediately.

Wemby, fortunately, stood up immediately and told everyone he was fine. But the San Antonio crowd at Frost Bank Center had begun chanting “technical!” as the referees reviewed the play.

They determined it was a deliberate foul by Bane. He was called for a flagrant foul I for his action.

Wembanyama and the Spurs had the last laugh with a 112-103 win. As if the loss, a potential fine, and the spate of fouls Bane has been on isn’t enough. Now, fans are raging against the guard.

Desmond Bane’s fouling makes him the Internet villain

Some might say, “Desmond Bane talk a lot for a dude with a 4 foot wingspan.” But he’s a 3-and-D player who can physically take down a 7’4″ alien. That’s precisely why Magic acquired Desmond Bane from the Grizzlies to bring some robust energy to the young lineup.

The 27-year-old took the assignment seriously and became a literal ‘Bane’ to young players this road trip. Before Sunday’s matchup against the Spurs, he was throwing Immanuel Quickley around while playing against the Raptors.

Just this December, he coughed up a $35,000 fine for throwing a ball at OG Anunoby. His antics are not winning fans. After tonight, a particular label was slapped on his name. “Desmond Bane with a dirty cheap shot to the body of Victor Wembanyama, off the ball (with replays). It was upgraded to a flagrant-1 upon review.”

An upgrade to a Flagrant 1 has done little to appease an irate fanbase. They specifically call him out for the mechanics of the foul, getting in the way, not by accident. “The jerk then raises his arms as if wondering what he did wrong. As the kids call it – he’s caught in 4K.”

Wemby’s a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year once more. But his title hinges on meeting the 65-game criteria. He’s already missed over a dozen games after being hard fouled. He luckily came out of this one unscathed.

Yet, since he had a life-threatening issue a year ago, fans won’t take such incidents lightly. “Eventually one of the other Spurs players has to send a message to somebody that these cheap shots on Wemby will not be tolerated.”

Fans are now calling on the Spurs front office to get Wemby an ‘enforcer’ who will take on targets like Desmond Bane.