San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama got away with a clear flagrant foul on New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, but fellow Knicks guard Jose Alvarado has made it quite clear that won’t happen again.
The play in question happened in the first quarter, when Wembanyama and Brunson got a bit tangled up before the Spurs center threw Brunson to the ground.
There was no whistle despite how clear and intentional Wembanyama’s dirty play was, and even though the NBA admitted to missing the foul and reviewed it, no flagrant foul was retroactively handed out to Wembanyama, according to reports.
Had Wembanyama been assessed a Flagrant 1, he would have been one more flagrant foul away from a suspension after he picked up a Flagrant 2 in the Western Conference semis.
Jose Alvarado warns Victor Wembanyama
When asked about the foul on his teammate, Alvarado sent a clear warning to Wembanyama, according to the New York Post’s Zach Braziller.
“I think that’s not basketball,” Alvarado said. “That’s something that they gotta look at. But he got away with one. That’ll be the last one.”
Brunson’s response to a question about the play was much more reserved.
“Whatever you saw is what you saw,” Brunson said after Game 3.
Wembanyama getting away with that is especially egregious when you consider how Brunson was called for a flagrant foul on his closeout while defending Spurs forward Julian Champagnie.
MORE: Donald Trump fires back at Stephen A. Smith after Knicks loss
Adding to that, Wembanyama had a similar closeout to the one Brunson had on Champagnie, yet the Spurs big man did not get hit with a flagrant foul like Brunson did.
This just goes to show the overall disparity between what the Spurs have been able to get away with and what the Knicks haven’t.
Anyone who is being objective can see a clear difference.
It’s going to be very interesting to see if frustrations boil over into Game 4 on Wednesday night.
We have a very good feeling that if Wembanyama or any Spurs player even comes close to doing what he did on Monday night, there could be serious issues.
Victor Wembanyama picking up dirty player label
If he hasn’t already, Wembanyama is certainly moving toward picking up the “dirty player” label, and that isn’t a good look for someone the NBA wants to be the face of the league.
Before his mushing Brunson, Wembanyama was hit with a Flagrant 2 and ejected for hitting Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid with an elbow to the throat.
There is no denying Wembanyama’s talent, but he’s got to clean up his act.