Victor Wembanyama is fed up with the lack of calls he’s receiving on the court and his tensions boiled over against the Clippers on Wednesday night.
Wembanyama was shoved by Ivica Zubac and fell the ground before he charged at Zubac and was held back by his coaching staff and teammates.
Zubac shoved Wemby and Wemby wanted ALL the smoke 💨👀pic.twitter.com/ClxXEWVDLY
— Covers (@Covers) January 30, 2025
“It’s not even about Zubac,” Wembanyama said after the game. “It’s just frustration, no matter who it was.”
He was asked by reporters if he believes he gets a fair whistle from officials, to which he promptly replied, “No.”
After the game, Zubac revealed he had apologized to Wemby and explained that’s not who he is.
“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.”
No foul was called on Zubac after the play, which Wemby and the Spurs did not like.
“I thought there was a few plays that should have been taken care of a little bit earlier,” San Antonio acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “You’ll get reactions like that. It’s probably surprising he hasn’t reacted like that earlier, to be honest. He gets a lot of contact, and at some point he’s going to have to continue to protect himself if the people controlling the game, supposedly, are not going to do that.”
Feeling mad about the lack of calls is something that isn’t new for Wemby, since teams try and limit his shooting and dribble by leaning against and pushing him.
“So it’s a hard thing to fight, because it feels unfair sometimes,” Wembanyama said. “But of course, we talk about it with the staff and there is some stuff I have to do to help myself. First of all, being strong and not bailing out shots, but also there is some work to do. Talking to the refs, of course, 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 yeah, this is why it’s frustrating. It’s not my job to do politics.”
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