The San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder played an overtime thriller in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night, with the Spurs pulling out a 122-115 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Unfortunately, the game was not without controversy.
Following the game, a video has surfaced that appears to show Oklahoma City star Chet Holmgren stepping on the ankle of Spurs star Victor Wembanyama while the two were jostling for position to rebound a free throw. And some fans believe the move was intentional.
In a video that has since gone viral on social media with more than 3 million views on X, Holmgren appears to look directly at the ankle of Wembanyama while the two await a free throw. When the shot is released, Holmgren takes a step to his left, stepping directly on the ankle of Wembanyama.
“Chet looks at Wemby’s ankle and goes straight to step on it. But well, coming from THEM, honestly, it doesn’t surprise me,” a Spurs fan account wrote, sharing the video on social media.
‘Dirty Players Disgust Me’
While it’s not clear whether or not the move was intentional, and Wembanyama did not react in the moment, it’s clear that many NBA fans thought that it was a dirty play, as they took to social media to express their frustration with the play.
“For me, it’s way more serious than Wemby’s elbow to the Wolves. It’s 100% intentional, and you can injure him for the rest of the season like that,” one fan wrote in a post on X.
“No joke, this video is dead serious. These things go unnoticed and then they repeat them, and at some point, they ruin a player’s life,” someone else added.
“Wow this is some desperate scum move by Holmgren. Why do Thunder players behave this way? Who’s behind all the dirty stuff? Is it Lu Dort? Someone in the coaching staff? Seriously, what is this?” another fan wrote.
“Dirty players disgust me,” someone else added.
“As he gets absolutely schooled by Wemby every game they play this is what he has to resort to,” another fan said.
The good news is that Wembanyama was not injured on the play, but it definitely was a concerning incident.
Wemby Praised for Defending Himself
This incident comes after Spurs coach Mitch Johnson praised Wembanyama for defending himself from excessively physical play when he struck Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid during a game last series, leading to Wembanyama’s ejection.
Johnson also had some strong words for the referees for allowing that type of physical play at the detriment of his young star.
“Just the amount of physicality that people play with him, at some level, you have to protect yourself,” Johnson said of Wembanyama after his ejection. “Every single play on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose their physicality on you. He’s gotten pushed down in transition, running freely. We don’t complain because we’re just going to play. We don’t really give a [expletive]. But at some stage, he should be protected. If not, he’s going to have to protect himself, and unfortunately, stuff like that happens.
“It’s starting to get disgusting in terms of when he tries to fight through things, be professional and mature and deal with some of that stuff. I’m glad he took matters into his own hands. Not in terms of hitting Naz Reid, but he’s going to have to protect himself if they’re not. And I think it’s disgusting.”
This latest incident appears to show the exact kind of physicality that Johnson was talking about.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.