San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama needs to be very careful about flagrant fouls in the NBA Finals. And in Game 5, he may have gotten away with one.
Midway through the third quarter Saturday, June 13, Wembanyama jumped to contest a 3-point attempt from Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson. During Wembanyama’s closeout, he approached Brunson’s landing area, leading to Brunson landing on Wembanyama’s right foot.
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Officials opted not to call a foul on Wembanyama, which normally would’ve induced a review to see if it constituted a reckless closeout.
Brunson was extremely upset with officials and ran over to argue. A closer look at the play, however, showed that Brunson kicked his leg out in a somewhat unnatural motion.
Wembanyama is currently sitting at 3 flagrant points, and any additional flagrant foul penalty — 1 or 2 — would trigger an automatic one-game suspension.
So, while it would seem Wembanyama may have skirted past a suspension, the NBA can still issue one retroactively, since it reviews prior games. If the NBA deems that the play indeed merited a reckless closeout and a flagrant foul, it can upgrade that play, which would result in the suspension.
The Spurs, of course, would need to hold on to win the game to extend the series, anyway.
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San Antonio leads, 70-58, with 1:26 left to play in the third quarter.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Should Victor Wembanyama have been called for flagrant foul?
