It’s the question on everyone’s minds ahead of a second-round Game 5 between the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Uh … why didn’t Victor Wembanyama get suspended for his violent elbow on Naz Reid in Game 4? Surely, the intent to harm and the dangerousness of the sequence were apparent to everyone watching, including the NBA’s disciplinary office. Wembanyama didn’t receive any punishment for the sequence, not even a hefty fine, which is such a sham, the more you think about it.
The easy answer here is that Wembanyama is a first-time offender in this situation. Usually, only guys with a consistent history of flagrant and dangerous plays — like Draymond Green, for example — receive a harsh punishment from the NBA. Wembanyama doesn’t have that established precedent of crossing the line. Far from it. The more complicated answer, and it’s highly presumptive, is that the NBA also didn’t want to suspend its brightest young player from the biggest game of his career so far and is using the first-timer principle as an easy excuse.
And, honestly, I do get why the Association would have a vested interest in Wembanyama playing in Game 5 from a business perspective, even if it is pretty gross.
So, yes, Wembanyama is playing in Game 5. He didn’t get suspended. Or fined. And we can stage an endless debate about why he’s playing and why he didn’t get suspended, all we want, but that reality still won’t change. He’s playing.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Victor Wembanyama elbow: Why Spurs star wasn’t suspended for Game 5
