Metta World Peace did not hide the emotion when Victor Wembanyama avoided further punishment after his Game 4 ejection against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The former NBA forward said the ruling brought back memories of one of the most painful moments of his own career.
“I got a little bit emotional,” World Peace told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, reflecting on the decision and what it meant to see a young star stay on the floor after a hard foul and an automatic ejection.
World Peace was referring to the Timberwolves’ 114-109 win over the Spurs in Game 4 on Sunday, a game that featured Wembanyama’s early exit on a Flagrant 2 after an elbow to the face and neck area of Naz Reid. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the NBA will not hand down any additional discipline.
That outcome struck a nerve for World Peace, whose own career was defined in part by the fallout from the 2012 incident involving James Harden. Looking back, he said his intent was never to target Harden.
“It wasn’t meant for James. I didn’t even know who was behind me,” World Peace said in a 2021 interview with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson. “I just felt someone push me; I didn’t know who it was. It was very unfortunate.”
This time, his reaction was less about the play itself and more about the feeling of being removed from a game when the stakes are highest. “Sometimes you gotta win on the court and focus on the game,” he said. “I wish I could not be able to be suspended and focus on the game.”
His words carried extra weight because the modern postseason has only intensified the cost of losing a star player in a tight series. Minnesota used Anthony Edwards’ fourth-quarter burst, plus key contributions from Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert, to tie the series at 2-2 and push the Spurs into a must-win situation for Game 5 in San Antonio.
The timing made Wembanyama’s ejection even more controversial, but World Peace framed it as part of the NBA’s long-running tension between physical playoff basketball and discipline.
“They ejected him and gave him a flagrant 2,” World Peace said, still sounding like someone who knows how quickly one moment can change the narrative of a postseason series.
