This looks like the rivalry that will define the NBA for the next several years. The Thunder are the defending champions with the reigning MVP, accused of foul-baiting and overly aggressive defense. But they seem to have met their match in the form of San Antonio. With Victor Wembanyama returning from injury and putting on a basketball masterclass that doesn’t involve drawing fouls, the Spurs managed to beat OKC thrice in the span of a couple of weeks last month. Now that Wemby has already missed games this season, his awards eligibility is hanging by a thin participation policy. And fans think that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is threatening that.

The Spurs were back in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night for their fourth matchup of the season. The Thunder understandably didn’t want to lose another game to them, and that desperation was clearly visible.

As with any game OKC plays, this game was just as physical. It was a single sequence that got the Internet up in arms against SGA.

During a transition play, Shai had fallen to the floor while Wemby drove up for a layup at the rim. When the 7’4″ alien was coming down, SGA appeared to close his knees together. The contact caused Wembanyama’s trailing leg to catch, sending the star center into a dangerous stumble.

Wemby just came off a four-game break to recover from the hyperextension of his knee. That brings his tally to 14 missed games. He can’t afford any more or he loses his DPOY eligibility.

He fortunately avoided a serious injury in this play. Yet the optics, in combination with SGA’s rep for foul-baiting has made fans think this was a calculated move.

Fans clash over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s ‘defensive’ move on Victor Wembanyama

Victor Wembanyama ended OKC’s run during the NBA Cup Knockout Rounds and once again broke them on Christmas Day. All while demonstrating what defense looks like. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not taking him lightly, sending a public message to his teammates to be wary of Wemby.

Meanwhile, calls of OKC’s apparent foul-baiting have increased league-wide. Rival players and coaches like LeBron James and Chris Finch have voiced their opinions on OKC’s physical play and Shai’s carrying the unwanted label of ‘Free Throw Merchant.’

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The entire background goes against him in that stumble with Wemby. He’s now being accused of being a “Dirty player, learned from Dort.” His teammate, Lu Dort, has a reputation for highly physical, and sometimes reckless, perimeter defense.

Wemby has the innate ability to shatter OKC’s invincibility myth. The NBA community is sure that it’s getting to the Thunder and they’re desperately “Doing anything to stop them losing every game 😭😭”

But the methods “OKC keeps trying to hurt wemby this is insane bro 😂😂” make Spurs fans protective of the French phenom. His 2024-25 DPOY campaign was cut short by blood clots. He’s had major injury scares this season and yet performed at elite consistency.

SGA has his fair share of defenders, though. As X got flooded with clips of fans accusing him of deliberately tripping Wemby, others duly point out, “He’s protecting his jewels. I know this move.”

Shai had fallen on his back and had no time to recover with the fast-paced action going on around him. Wemby was really close to his nether regions. Not difficult to see that his instinct kicked in to prevent the giant from stepping on a painful place.

The neutral ones are defending SGA’s reflexive action, claiming, “No way you are spreading this narrative you are sick.”

A few are turning on Wembanyama for stepping over Shai. “*Wembanyama blatantly kicking Shai in the crotch with the back of his heel* ‘LOOK AT SHAI, HE IS SO UNETHICAL,'” is how the OKC fans are rewriting the narrative.

Whether a deliberate trip or a protective reflex, this incident is fueling the genuine animosity behind what is quickly becoming the NBA’s most must-watch rivalry.