If there was any fear about Victor Wembanyama’s adjustment to the NBA, it had to do with his frame. Wembanyama is one of the NBA’s tallest players at 7-foot-3, but he is very skinny for his height and will almost certainly bulk up with more time in San Antonio’s strength and conditioning program. For now, he is vulnerable to stronger players, especially when they’re willing to get a little dirty.
That happened on Wednesday as Wembanyama’s Spurs faced the Los Angeles Clippers. As Wembanyama attempted to get into position to rebound a Harrison Barnes 3-point attempt, Clippers center Ivica Zubac gave him a shove in the back that sent him tumbling to the floor.
Wembanyama did not take this sitting down, though. He immediately flew back up, and his teammates and coaches needed to hold him back from pursuing the 7-foot, 240-pound Zubac after the Clippers called timeout.
After the game, Wembanyama explained the feelings behind his reaction to Zubac’s shove that sent him to the floor.
“Frustration, a bunch of things,” Wembanyama said.
When Wembanyama was asked if he thought he got a fair whistle from the officials on most nights, he simply said, “No.”
“It’s a hard thing to fight because it feels unfair sometimes,” Wembanyama said. “Of course we talk about it with the staff, and there is some stuff I have to do to help myself, being strong and not bailing out shots. But there is some work to do in talking to the referees, explaining myself. But for me it doesn’t feel like it’s something I should influence. I’m a basketball player, I’m here to play, and this is frustrating, it’s not my job to do politics.”
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Ultimately, there was no direct confrontation with Zubac. The two were seen sharing a post-game hug and there were seemingly no hard feelings after the Clippers’ 128-116 win. No technical foul was called on the play, though replay shows that one probably should have been. Regardless, no lasting harm was done.
After the game, Zubac said he hit Wembanyama a little hard, and apologized for it.
“I reacted a little,” Zubac said. “I thought I got fouled [on the previous play]. I was mad at the refs. So then I was late [on Barnes’ 3-point shot]. I saw it going up. I saw Wemby crashing, so I knew I had to box him out. I bumped him a little harder. I let emotions take over a little bit, but I apologized to him. That’s not the way I want to be on the court and compete.”
If anything, this was a heartening moment for Spurs fans in regards to Wembanyama’s response. He may still be vulnerable to bulkier players like Zubac, but he’s certainly willing to stand up for himself when players like that use their physicality to go after him. His body may need a bit of work before he’s ready to stand up to some of the NBA’s strongest players, but his attitude is exactly where it needs to be.
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