In his debut season, Victor Wembanyama has already established himself as a prominent figure in the league. It requires some thought to recall a rookie who has had such a significant impact in their first season.
Wembanyama consistently grabs headlines whenever the Spurs play, and the 7’4″ center has already reached heights that place him among the Spurs greats. However, an incident against the Knicks has somewhat tarnished the shine of the Frenchman, as he reveals the actual reason for his actions.
Victor Wembanyama reacts to NBA fine
The NBA is strict when it comes to the players’ on-court behavior and after Rudy Gobert’s recent $100K fine, Victor Wembanyama received a fine for throwing the ball into the crowd. The favorite rookie for the ROTY and the DPOY titles race got into trouble for throwing the ball into the crowd when celebrating a win against the NY Knicks.
The league announced on Sunday that a fine of $25,000 would be imposed on Wemby. Justifying his action, the 20-year-old in a post-game press conference said, “I remember players being fined for this, but they always threw it in a bad way. I threw it to…please somebody. It’s not like I was trying to hurt anybody.”
"I know players have gotten fined for throwing the ball in the stands before, but they did it with bad intent. I was just doing it to make someone's day."
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 1, 2024
Victor Wembanyama on been fined $25,000 for throwing the ball into the stands 🗣️pic.twitter.com/UcDKA2CJxO
The San Antonio Spurs have found themselves in a dire situation, lingering at the bottom of the Western Conference table despite Wembanyama’s continuous efforts. Following a 130-126 victory against the fourth-seeded Eastern team and achieving their first 3-game winning streak, the jubilant Wemby threw the ball not with the intention of harming the audience, but out of sheer joy.
Victor scored 40 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and dished out 7 assists, overshadowing the Knicks’ star Jalen Brunson, who scored 61 points in the game. However, his impressive performance came to an end when he faced the Warriors’ sharpshooter Stephen Curry and his team.
Warriors overcome Spurs despite Victor Wembanyama show
Despite having a sloppy start with an 18-57 record in the entire season, the Spurs saw a silver lining after their recent 3-game winning streak. To extend the streak, the Spurs hosted the Golden State Warriors, who are struggling to hold the final play-in spot in the West, only to face disappointment.
The Spurs established their dominance in the first half by taking a 60-52 lead in the first two quarters. After coming under scrutiny for his leadership qualities following his emotional breakdown because of teammate Draymond Green’s ejection, Stephen Curry has shown his worth by leading the team to a 117-113 victory when it was required.
The Warriors guard turned the tide with his outstanding performance in the second half of the thrilling game. The 3-point specialist scored seven 3-pointers out of the fifteen he attempted, putting up a game-high 33 points on the scoreboard along with dishing out 8 assists.
While Curry missed the double-double by a hair, Green stepped up after facing countless criticisms and scored 21 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds. Victor Wembanyama’s three 3-pointers and a massive contribution of 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists was overshadowed by Klay Thompson’s last-minute 3-pointer that gave the Warriors a two-game advantage over the Houston Rockets.
With Curry’s family present on the sideline, the 4-time champion got extra motivation to break the Spurs’ defense and shoot 12 out of 23 shots from the field, leaving no doubt that he is one of the greatest shooters in NBA history.
As for Wembanyama, the French sensation will match up against MVP favorite Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets on April 2 to leave another mark of his sky-high potential.
