Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are suddenly under heavy pressure in the Western Conference Finals, and now the NBA is off the court as well.
“After the Spurs lost 127-114 to the Oklahoma City Thunder which put San Antonio in a 3-2 deficit in the Western Conference finals, the spokesperson for the team said that Wembanyama will not be available to talk to reporters,” Shams Charania told ESPN. “The spokesman made the announcement an hour after Spurs coach Mitch Johnson spoke about the loss.”
The NBA has strict rules on media availability during the postseason, especially for star players, and violations have led to financial penalties in the past. Although Wembanyama is only being warned this time, past incidents have led to the league being fined a hefty sum.
“The NBA has levied fines in the past for players who were not available to the media after the finals,” Charania added. “In 2023, both Jimmy Butler and Dillon Brooks received fines of $25,000 for not speaking to reporters.”
The timing of the situation also brought a lot of attention to the absence of Wembanyama after his most difficult game. The 22-year-old finished with 20 points on 4-for-15 shooting as Oklahoma City took the series lead.
“Black was held to 20 points on 4-for-15 shooting Tuesday,” Charania wrote. “He had one rebound in the first half, tying the second half of San Antonio’s Game 3 loss for his few rebounds in the playoffs.”
The Thunder have also found success in attacking San Antonio’s franchise’s best defense.
“Oklahoma City also shot 49 percent with Wembanyama from the field in Game 5, the highest field goal percentage the team has shot against him in the postseason,” according to ESPN.
Spurs’ coach, Mitch Johnson, admitted after the game that San Antonio must do a better job of bringing together its star heading into the playoffs.
“We’re going to need Wemby to continue,” Johnson said after the loss.
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