San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson expressed frustration with the officiating after Victor Wembanyama was ejected during Game 4 of the team’s series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The rookie star was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul following a review of an incident where his elbow made contact with Naz Reid’s face and neck area.
Johnson argued that the ejection stemmed from a larger issue: opposing teams have been increasingly physical with Wembanyama throughout the series without sufficient intervention from officials. “It’s getting to a point that if the people who are in charge of controlling the game and protecting the physicality of the game don’t do that, then at some point he’s going to have to protect himself,” Johnson said, defending his player’s reaction to the mounting pressure.
The Spurs coach dismissed any suggestion that Wembanyama should face further discipline, calling a potential suspension “ridiculous.” He emphasized that there was no intent behind the foul. “There was no intent,” Johnson reiterated when asked about the play.
The loss places the Spurs in a challenging position in the series, while the discussion around how teams are defending Wembanyama physically in the postseason intensifies.
