Victor Wembanyama's record-breaking performance came with an asterisk from the team he tormented on the court. The San Antonio Spurs star swatted 12 shots during Monday's playoff loss to Minnesota, setting an NBA playoff record, but the Timberwolves are convinced several should never have counted.
Minnesota coach Chris Finch went public with the complaint Tuesday, saying at least four of Wembanyama's blocks were goaltending violations that officials missed. Finch didn't mince words about what that meant for the game's outcome.
"Historic night. But when we looked at [Wembanyama's blocks], at least four of them were goaltending," Finch said. "To me, it's a little alarming that none of them were called. Here's a generational shot blocker and there's no heightened awareness that these blocks could be goaltends?"
The most obvious case came early in the game when Wembanyama rejected a Terrence Shannon Jr. layup that had already bounced off the backboard. That should have been a dead ball foul, but the block was credited to the Spurs defender instead.
Finch pointed out that if four goaltending calls had been made, eight points would have come off Wembanyama's night. In an NBA game where every possession carries weight, that's not a minor detail.
"That means 33% of his blocks were goaltending uncalled," Finch said. "If I were to give you a 33% raise, you'd like that, right? It's a huge number."
Shannon, the player most affected by the apparent missed calls, refused to adjust his approach going forward. When asked if he would change tactics to avoid Wembanyama's reach, the Timberwolves guard stood firm.
"He gonna have to block it every time, I ain't gonna stop going downhill," Shannon said. "He gonna have to block it every single time if he wants to stop me. I'm gonna dunk on him."
Rudy Gobert, Wembanyama's teammate on France's national team, echoed the concerns from the Minnesota sideline. The Timberwolves center believed the Spurs star got away with multiple infractions throughout the night.
"He fouled me on the first one," Gobert said, adding that he counted three or four clear goaltending violations in Wembanyama's dominant showing.
Game 2 of the series tips off Wednesday night.
Author James Rodriguez: "Wembanyama's a generational defender, but if nearly a third of his blocks shouldn't have counted, Minnesota has a legitimate gripe about the officiating, not the kid's talent."
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