The San Antonio Spurs won Game 3, but Victor Wembanyama’s shove on Jalen Brunson quickly became one of the loudest talking points of the 2026 NBA Finals. The Spurs superstar avoided retroactive punishment after the NBA declined to upgrade the play, a decision that drew immediate criticism.
Wembanyama shoved Brunson away from the ball during Monday’s 115-111 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Officials did not call a foul on the play, and the league’s review brought even more attention to the sequence.
Later, the NBA acknowledged that it had missed a foul, but the league did not upgrade the contact to a flagrant. That decision kept Wembanyama’s playoff flagrant point total unchanged before Game 4.
Longtime sports personality Skip Bayless posted on X, formerly Twitter, after the ruling, blasting the NBA for how it handled the Wembanyama play involving Brunson.
“NO WAY WAS THE NBA GOING TO DO THE CORRECT THING AND UPGRADE WEMBY'S UNCALLED FOUL TO THE FLAGRANT ON JALEN BRUNSON THAT IT OBVIOUSLY GLARINGLY WAS. THE ALIEN IS NOW THE FACE OF THE LEAGUE, THE NEW RATINGS MAGNET, THE MOST PROTECTED PLAYER IN THE NBA. THIS IS EXHIBIT A.”
NO WAY WAS THE NBA GOING TO DO THE CORRECT THING AND UPGRADE WEMBY'S UNCALLED FOUL TO THE FLAGRANT ON JALEN BRUNSON THAT IT OBVIOUSLY GLARINGLY WAS. THE ALIEN IS NOW THE FACE OF THE LEAGUE, THE NEW RATINGS MAGNET, THE MOST PROTECTED PLAYER IN THE NBA. THIS IS EXHIBIT A.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 10, 2026
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Bayless framed the decision as superstar protection, not just missed officiating. His reaction added heat before Game 4, with the Knicks still leading the series 2-1.
The flagrant context matters. Wembanyama already carried two playoff flagrant points after a Flagrant 2 earlier in the postseason vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves, making any upgrade more consequential.
An upgrade on the Brunson shove would have moved Wembanyama closer to an automatic one-game suspension. Instead, the Spurs keep their franchise centerpiece clear of that risk, while the Knicks gain another officiating flashpoint in a tense NBA Finals matchup.
The San Antonio Spurs won Game 3, but Victor Wembanyama’s shove on Jalen Brunson quickly became one of the loudest talking points of the 2026 NBA Finals. The Spurs superstar avoided retroactive punishment after the NBA declined to upgrade the play, a decision that drew immediate criticism.