A 13-point halftime lead had ballooned all the way back up to 30 points as the San Antonio Spurs sealed the series in Game 6. Since his ejection in Game 4, Victor Wembanyama has absorbed a lot of fouls and called them “rage baiting” moves. Yet, this did not stop the Minnesota Timberwolves and Anthony Edwards from rattling the current DPOY. But the fans took exception to it.
In the second quarter, with 10:58, Julius Randle missed a three-pointer. De’Aaron Fox grabbed the rebound and made a perfect pass to Wemby, who was the last man to score the running dunk. This was Anthony Edwards’ man to defend, but he was a little slow to get back. But when he saw the Spurs center in the air, Antman attempted a two-handed shove, and the refs called the foul. Wemby completed the three-point play from the charity stripe, and it gave the Spurs their largest lead at the time, 41-27. As the game moved on, the BBall Breakdown page on X reminded everyone why this was a dangerous play.
I don’t think what Edwards did here was okay. You really can’t two-hand shove a guy in the back as he’s getting into the air; it’s simply dangerous. And it was weird that he’d argue the call. With over 150k followers, the page is famous for a pointed basketball analysis. In the comment section, some fans defended Ant and said it was minimal contact. But the BBALLBREAKDOWN account was having none of it and replied, “Do yourself a favor and sprint as fast as you can, then jump in the air and have someone push you in the back the moment you leave the floor. I’ll wait.”
Since the French center was in the air, any push from the back could lead to an awkward landing. This time Wemby was fortunate enough to land on his feet comfortably before losing his balance as he sat on the floor in disbelief. Fouls against Victor Wembanyama have been a recurring issue throughout the series. In the first quarter, Randle, while grabbing a rebound, pushed the first-ever unanimous DPOY, who landed on his stomach, but avoided any serious injury.
Then, in the second quarter, T. Shannon Jr. tried to grab Wembanyama but pushed him off using his elbow to stop him from rebounding. This has been recurring throughout the series and has been more prevalent since Wemby’s Game 4 ejection. Especially the foul from Edwards could have hurt the Spurs center more, as the comments rightly pointed out.
Fans support Victor Wembanyama over Timberwolves’ antics
Even in Game 5, from the beginning, Wemby had to endure a lot of fouls. Ayo Dosunmu got in his face in the first quarter. Rudy Gobert stepped into his landing zone. Naz Reid physically shoved him out of bounds. But the 22-year-old stayed calm. That’s why a fan commented, “Wolves are dirty probably about the 20th time Wemby has been two hand shoved in the back this series”. Speaking about the treatment, Victor Wembanyama did not express shock about it.
“Yeah, I feel like the rage baiting would have been maybe one of the strategies. So, I feel like we need to stay composed as a team”. He stayed calm in Game 5 and dropped 27 points and 17 rebounds. The unnecessary shoving and pulling continued tonight in Target Center, and another netizen commented, “Every time he goes up or gathers they are shoving him in the back. Every single time.”
After the ejection in Game 4, the NBA did not impose harsher punishment for the French phenom. But the Wolves remembered the elbow and wanted to take revenge and set the tone early. It was Rudy Gobert who entered his landing space, thus disrupting his footing. It was called for flagrant 1, but not flagrant 2. Even then, the Spurs fans wondered, and today they had the same conundrum. “Was wondering why it wasn’t reviewed for flagrant”. There were multiple attempts made, even in the last game, to rile up Wemby.
Ayo Dosunmu tried to get a reaction in Game 4. “You’re still talking s—t?” he asked the 22-year-old. Victor Wembanyama’s first response was a smile. Then, still smiling, he replied, “Get your hands off me.” Edwards tried interjecting and asking for a tech, but Wemby still smiled and said the same thing, “Get your hands off me.” It didn’t there, Ant even pushed him once again trying to get a reaction. But there was none. So a fan called, “He also had a very similar two-handed shove on Wemby in an earlier game. Complained about that one too.”
Another one clearly blamed Edwards. “It is an obvious foul but he’s arguing because the refs have been letting them get away with this all series against Wemby. Same thing happened with the Cade push off in the pistons game, obvious foul but they haven’t been calling it all series.” While it’s been Victor Wembanyama’s playoff debut season, he has experienced it all. A concussion ruled him out of a game against the Blazers. Then his first flagrant 2 of his career, but he has faced it all and now has led the Spurs to their first conference finals since 16-17.
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