Victor Wembanyama was the hot topic during an episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective Show. The Spurs’ star forward caught a lot of heat after elbowing the Timberwolves’ Naz Reid during a playoff match, and it looks like some still have not forgiven him.
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“You can’t hit a guy in the throat. I don’t care if it’s in October, and you sure as bleep can’t do it in the playoffs. You can’t do it,” said Windhorst while discussing the controversial moment.
“And then take zero accountability,” added fellow ESPN journalist Tim MacMahon, who was also present during the discussion on the podcast. So, what really happened?
The Spurs were playing against the Timberwolves in the semi-finals of the Western Conference in May 2026. Wembanyama battled Naz Reid over a rebound and ended up catching his throat with his elbow.
As a result, Wembanyama received a flagrant foul penalty category two. As per league rules, he was ejected from the floor right then and there. Ultimately, the Spurs lost game four, 109-114.
However, they won the series after taking games five and six. Victor Wembanyama did not receive an additional fine or suspension due to his flagrant foul.
After game five, the French star finally spoke to the media about the incident but he did not express any strong feelings about it all. “I mean, it was two games ago,” he told the press.
“It’s the playoffs. I’m focused, I was focused on the game today and now I’m focused on the game in Minnesota in three days. It’s the playoffs. We’ve got to move on and I’ve got to care about my team.”
He hasn’t spoken much about the situation since. This might explain why MacMahon thought that the player had dodged accountability. This wasn’t the only time the player was brought up in the episode.
Victor Wembanyama has remained largely silent about the Spurs’ loss to the New York Knicks in the 2026 finals. It was perhaps even more upsetting due to the Knicks’ dominant 4-1 victory.
Wembanyama had high hopes for his team, which had the third-highest point average in the league at 119.8. New reports suggest that the loss left him upset enough to deny any words to the press except for one media house.
“I’m hearing that Victor does not want to talk about what happened in the finals,” said ESPN’s Michael C. Wright during the same podcast episode. “I’m hearing like he’s locked in. As a matter of fact, I was told he’s not even talking to any American media outlets except for 60 Minutes.”
The loss seemingly “affected him in a way,” Wright claimed. Of course, the way the team dominated heading into the playoffs, Wembanyama was rather confident and hopeful.
The Spurs went into the postseason with a 62-20 record. It was the second-best record of any team, and the French star was perhaps the key player. He averaged 25 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and had a 51.2% shooting rate in the regular season.
However, the Knicks bested him and the Spurs in a truly monumental series. Wembanyama missed two crucial free throws in game four and went 7-for-19 shooting in game five, one of his worst shooting performances in the playoffs.
This, along with other strategic errors, cost the Spurs the finals. The team gave up a massive lead in at least two games and lost the last game on home ground. The impact on the team and the star forward was observable.
Now, the expectations are high for the team heading into the upcoming regular season.