The NBA declined further discipline after Victor Wembanyama’s Game 4 ejection, clearing the Spurs star to play Tuesday against Minnesota.
Victor Wembanyama's first career ejection on Sunday night raised the obvious question. Would the NBA add a suspension on top of the Flagrant 2? Shams Charania reported Monday that the league decided against any further disciplinary action. The Spurs star will be on the floor when Game 5 tips off Tuesday night in San Antonio.
The decision came quickly after the league reviewed the play. With his team leading by eight in the second quarter of Game 4, Wembanyama pulled down a rebound and got tangled up with Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels. He swung his right elbow and caught Reid in the chin. After review, officials upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2 for excessive contact above the neck.
The San Antonio Spurs played the rest of the game without their best player and lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-109, evening the series at 2-2.
There were legitimate reasons to wonder whether the league would add a suspension. A recent precedent existed. In 2023, Draymond Green received a one-game suspension after a Flagrant 2 against Domantas Sabonis, with the NBA citing Green’s history of unsportsmanlike conduct as a factor.
The difference for Wembanyama was the context. Sunday marked the first ejection of his NBA career in three seasons. He entered the postseason without prior flagrant points and without a history of physical altercations or unsportsmanlike incidents. The play itself appeared reactionary after McDaniels made contact with Wembanyama’s face on the previous possession and grabbed onto his left arm during the rebound sequence.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson publicly defended his star after the game. He called the idea of an additional suspension “ridiculous” and emphasized there was no intent behind the play.
“If the people in charge of controlling the game and protecting the physicality of the game don’t do that, then at some point he is going to have to protect himself,” Johnson said.
The league ultimately agreed. The ejection will stand as the only punishment from Sunday’s incident. The NBA declined to issue a suspension or any additional fine beyond the automatic penalties attached to the Flagrant 2.