As Mitch Johnson and De’Aaron Fox bear the brunt of the blame for the San Antonio Spurs’ collapse before the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Tiki Barber is holding Victor Wembanyama accountable.
Wembanyama took a break from sketching a Hamlet sculpture, left the quietest room in the world, and covered his bare feet to play basketball on Wednesday night. And after being dubbed the face of the league, the best player in the sport, Wembanyama contributed to the biggest collapse in NBA history by disappearing offensively in the fourth quarter. Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs squandered a 29-point third-quarter lead to the Knicks, which now has them on the brink of elimination in the NBA Finals.
He’s just 22 years old, and arguably ahead of schedule as he plays in his first NBA Playoffs of what will hopefully be a very long career. But that doesn’t absolve Wembanyama of blame. And while most people are faulting the head coach or De’Aaron Fox for not holding onto the ball with 12 seconds remaining and a one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Tiki Barber wanted to make sure Wembanyama was appropriately criticized during his WFAN radio show with co-host Evan Roberts on Thursday morning.
Tiki rips “cocky ass” Victor Wembanyama: “There’s no humility in his game” pic.twitter.com/q4Ce3R6ik1
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) June 11, 2026
“He’s a cocky ass, Wemby is. He really is. There’s no humility in his game,” Barber ranted while citing Wembanyama’s attempt at claiming he got in the Knicks’ heads after being shoved to the floor by Mitchell Robinson. “And the problem, just like Jeremy Shockey pointing to the scoreboard against the San Francisco 49ers in 2002, is that when it comes back to get you, nobody feels sorry for you. Everybody says you deserved it.
“Wemby, you deserved to miss two free throws at the end. You deserved to get punked and shoot 2-11 in the fourth quarter. You deserved everything you got because you put it way out there before, against a team in the Knicks who are committed to winning every moment. Every moment! And the Spurs weren’t.”
This is the second time during these NBA Playoffs that Barber went off on an opposing player, having called Joel Embiid a “b*tch” during the second round. And now Barber is similarly taking aim at Wembanyama.
Much of the NBA media anointed Wembanyama before the Finals even began. And the one-sided praise has led many fans to view Wembanyama as something of a villain, especially as he repeatedly makes plays that appear dirty. He’s going to be the best player in the NBA and the face of the league for years to come, but with great ability comes great accountability. And Wembanyama deserves as much blame for blowing the biggest lead in NBA Finals history as he does credit for getting to the championship round.