MINNEAPOLIS -- San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama lost his head and got tossed from Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday after elbowing Naz Reid in the chin.
He picked an awful time for the first Flagrant 2 of his career: the second quarter of a high-stakes game that will either even the series at 2-2 or put Minnesota on the brink of elimination. Minnesota played with the amount of physicalty and intensity everyone expected, and that included a ton of grabbing and pushing Wemby around the floor. With 8:39 left in the second quarter, it came to a head.
Wembanyama fought for a rebound and controlled it through contact as Jaden McDaniels nearly ripped his jersey off. Reid was over his right shoulder, and he swung his right elbow right into Reid's jaw. After a lengthy review, Crew Chief Zach Zarba said that there was windup, follow through, and contact above the neck that was both unneccessary and excessive. It's hard to argue with that assessment.
Victor Wembanyama was given a flagrant 2 for this elbow on Naz Reid. pic.twitter.com/nYszYUspwJ
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) May 11, 2026
While Wemby's frustration is understandable, he took it a step too far in a way that put his team in a tough position.
The score was 36-34 Timberwolves at the time, and they ripped off an 8-2 run in the immediate aftermath. With Wembanyama out of the game, the Spurs' center minutes went to Luke Kornet and 6-foot-7 rookie Carter Bryant.
The Spurs have had the best defense in the league all playoffs anchored by the alien block machine, and all series long the Timberwolves have worked to push him away from the rim where he is so dominant.
San Antonio won playoff games on the road without Wembanyama, but it'll be an uphill battle. Minnesota leads 60-56 at halftime.
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