Victor Wembanyama had little interest in making a big deal out of Draymond Green’s flagrant foul. After all, it was not their first scuffle. This time, the San Antonio Spurs star remained composed after the Golden State Warriors forward shoved him from behind on Friday. But Wemby made his feelings about the opposing team’s approach clear after the 123-85 win.
The current DPOY was asked whether he felt less safe physically when facing a player like Green. Especially after the Warriors had expressed their intention to play aggressively. Victor Wembanyama dismissed the concern.
“No, I feel very secure. I know I have to be smart, but I feel very secure and it’s not a good basketball strategy and it shows. So I’m ready to put my butt down the line for the team if that allows us to win by 40.” He was equally brief when asked about Green’s shove and the resulting flagrant foul.
“Do I have any thoughts of it? Not much. I mean it’s not surprising,” Wemby concluded.
The incident took place with 6:47 left in the second quarter. Draymond Green made contact with Wembanyama from behind beneath the basket, sending the 7-foot-4 center sliding toward the baseline. After reviewing the play, officials upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 1.
Green exited after the flagrant foul and did not return in the first half. He finished with just 16 minutes total and did not play in the second half, watching the entire fourth quarter from the sidelines. Apart from that flagrant foul, Golden State continued to play rough against Victor Wembanyama.
It was Warriors who had made their intentions clear before tipoff. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg said the plan involved using Victor Wembanyama’s defensive presence to create opportunities while also bringing extra physicality.
“You know me, I’m gonna try to shoot as many threes as I can tonight, try to bait him into, you know, helping out, maybe get some more kickouts, and try to rough him up as much as we can.”
That approach failed to produce the desired results. Golden State struggled throughout the night and suffered a thirty-eight-point defeat. Draymond Green finished with four points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal, shooting 2-for-5 from the field. His minus-23 rating reflected another difficult outing for the veteran forward.
San Antonio, meanwhile, controlled the game from start to finish. Stephon Castle led the way with a season-high 32 points, connecting on 12 of 18 attempts from the field and five of eight from three-point range. Victor Wembanyama also delivered a strong performance despite battling the Warriors stars.
Wemby played for just 21 minutes and recorded 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two blocks, shooting 5-for-11 from the floor. The double-double marked the 121st of his NBA career. Meanwhile, Golden State had only two other players reach double figures. L.J. Cryer scored 20 points, while Charles Bassey added 11. The Spurs built a 43-point advantage in the third quarter, allowing their starters and several key reserves to rest. This wasn’t the first time Victor Wembanyama and Green had exchanged words on the court.
Their previous heated encounter came during an NBA Cup matchup in November 2025, when Golden State escaped with a narrow 109-108 road win at the Frost Bank Center. The tension developed during a battle for position beneath the basket ahead of an inbound pass from Castle. Green and Wemby became tangled, and the Spurs center responded by throwing down a one-handed alley-oop dunk over the Warriors forward.
However, officials ruled the basket out after calling a foul on Green before the shot. The two players then stood face-to-face and exchanged words, forcing officials to intervene before the situation escalated further. Victor Wembanyama later addressed the confrontation without suggesting he had anything to prove.
He explained that he was simply responding to the way Green had approached him, saying that when “somebody speaks to you a certain way, you have to respond in a certain way. That’s just how it is.”
Their latest encounter added another chapter to an increasingly physical matchup. This time, however, Victor Wembanyama made sure San Antonio’s commanding victory did most of the talking.