The NBA has decided not to seek further discipline against Victor Wembanyama. Wemby was issued a flagrant two foul last night after elbowing Timberwolves’ center Naz Reid in the throat in the second quarter. After reviewing the foul, the officials ruled it a flagrant two and ejected the superstar from the game. With the penalty appearing more violent than it was, some NBA fans and media suggested Wemby might be suspended for Game 5 on Tuesday night. With the NBA’s ruling this morning, should he have been?
Wemby’s Flagrant 2
In a competitive, physical series, tensions can rise due to rough play. It also doesn’t help with the officials swallowing their whistles due to the playoffs, and allowing players to play with a different level of intensity. With 8:39 left in the second quarter, Wembanyama grabbed an offensive rebound off a Carter Bryant missed three. With his left arm tangled with Jaden McDaniels, Wemby cocked his right arm back and swung his elbow, connecting with Naz Reid’s neck.
Officials would review to determine the level of penalty the foul warranted. The Defensive Player of the Year would be charged with an offensive foul and a flagrant two penalty, which is an immediate ejection. Last night was the first time in his career that he had been ejected from a game. It was also the first time he had been charged with any kind of flagrant foul at all.
Should the NBA Have Suspended Wembanyama?
The NBA decided not to discipline Wemby any further. No fine, no suspension, no nothing. Which is interesting when they have cases like when Metta World Peace was suspended for seven games, the final regular season game, and six postseason games, for elbowing James Harden back in 2012. There has definitely been a precedent where players who do things of this nature get suspended. However, I don’t believe he should gotten suspended, due to this is a “first offense” situation.
The fact that there wasn’t any other punishment for the act is laughable. According to the NBA rule book, Rule No. 12 Section VII, states that “Any player who is assessed a flagrant foul—penalty (2) must be ejected and will be fined a minimum of $2,000. The incident will be reported to the League Office.” Now you might be thinking, “Would they really announce a $2,000 fine?”
Maybe not. However, just in this postseason, Hornets‘ LaMelo Ball was fined $35K for a MISSED flagrant 2, and Nuggets‘ Nikola Jokic was fined $50K for rushing Jaden McDaniels in the first round for “breaking an unwritten rule” with scoring a layup with two seconds left when the game was already decided. Once again, maybe the NBA won’t announce Wemby’s $2,000 fine, but when it’s reported that they won’t be disciplining him further, the mind wonders.
What Does This Mean For Game 5?
I could see this lighting a fire under both teams. For the T-Wolves, their thought process should be, “You cheap-shot our guy and not get suspended?” I could see Reid or Gobert committing a hard foul against Wemby, nothing dirty, but potentially borderline. Conversely, the Spurs should feel as if they let Minnesota off the hook. Despite missing their best player, they had a seven-point lead in the fourth and failed to finish the job.
Final Thoughts
With the series tied 2-2, heading to San Antonio tomorrow night, it’s now a best-of-three between two of the Western Conference’s best teams and superstars. What did you make of the NBA not suspending Wemby? Do you believe he wasn’t suspended just because of his name?
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