Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and San Antonio Spurs had a scary moment when Timberwolves forward Naz Reid was on the receiving end of a nasty elbow from Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama was assessed a flagrant 2 foul for the incident, resulting in his immediate ejection from the game. After the contest, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson didn’t condone his star’s action, but made it clear he feels the moment was arrived at due to poor officiating.
“Just the amount of physicality that people play with him, at some level, you have to protect yourself,” Johnson said after the loss, via ESPN. “Every single play on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose their physicality on you. He’s gotten pushed down in transition, running freely.
“We don’t complain because we’re just going to play. We don’t really give a s—. But at some stage, he should be protected. If not, he’s going to have to protect himself, and unfortunately, stuff like that happens. It’s starting to get disgusting in terms of when he tries to fight through things, be professional and mature and deal with some of that stuff. I’m glad he took matters into his own hands. Not in terms of hitting Naz Reid, but he’s going to have to protect himself if they’re not. And I think it’s disgusting.”
#IStandWithWemby
Spurs fans feel the same way as their coach, judging from a hashtag that has caught fire on X. One user, Rev. Eric Dunn, even snapped a pic of himself holding up his elbow with the hashtag, in a post that now has over 100,000 views.
#IStandWithWemby pic.twitter.com/LGn6rzrVwL
— Rev. Eric Dunn (@ericvdunn) May 11, 2026
Dunn wasn’t alone, either.
#IStandWithWemby
This is BS, wemby was getting fouled and no call!! Complete BS!! Go spurs Go!
— InfamousCheeseHead (@Infamouscheese0) May 11, 2026
this is who you guys are hating on btw🥺🥺🥺#istandwithwemby pic.twitter.com/EWxGU1iD8S
— ese💓 (@na0ese) May 11, 2026
You can only take so much before you break #IstandwithWemby pic.twitter.com/7VEpKwUplU
— Wem🍌 (@wem_bee) May 11, 2026
Ultimately, and much to chagrin of some, the NBA has opted for no further punishment to be handed down toward Wembanyama, making him eligible for a return in Game 5 of the series. Hopefully, the officiating crew is able to keep things clean enough to avoid any further instances.