It may have been a bit late in the game, but Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs finally received a flagrant foul.
This occurred during the third quarter of Game 4 in the NBA Finals, with the Knicks down by 29 points and just under 9 minutes and 30 seconds left on the clock.
As Wembanyama attempted to maneuver past defenders, his elbow struck Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns in the face.
Towns appeared to be in considerable pain, and at one point Wembanyama approached him and gave him a light pat on the back.
After the referees took a closer look, they decided it was indeed a serious infraction.
“Upon review, it was concluded that Wembanyama’s elbow made unnecessary contact with Towns’ chin. This qualifies as an aggravated foul penalty of 1,” announced crew chief Zach Zarba, which elicited cheers from the Madison Square Garden crowd.
Wembanyama had already established himself as a key target in the series, especially after a previous incident where he sent Jalen Brunson crashing to the floor in the first quarter of Game 3. Yet, that foul went uncalled and was not retrospectively evaluated by the NBA.
If he had been assessed an aggravated foul in Game 3—in addition to the one he got in Game 4—he would have faced a suspension for accruing four aggravated points throughout the postseason.
The decision not to penalize him for the Game 3 hit sparked outrage among New Yorkers, with some publications even calling for him to be “wanted for crimes against the Knicks.”
Knicks owner James Dolan echoed this sentiment in an interview on WFAN Wednesday afternoon.
“I mean, I’m the governor of the NBA. Sure, I’m constrained by NBA rules, but there are a lot of rules. Not much I can say,” Dolan remarked. “If you look at the cover of the New York Post today, I think they nailed it. Hopefully, that won’t land me in trouble.”
Before the game started, Wembanyama faced a chorus of boos during the pregame introductions.
