By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Victor Wembanyama was ejected for the first time in his NBA career as the San Antonio Spurs fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google.
The incident occurred early in the second quarter, when he threw a right elbow that connected squarely with Wolves center Naz Reid’s chin while battling for a rebound. After a video review, officials upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2, which carries an automatic ejection.
The French superstar appeared confused by the ruling before heading to the locker room. He finished with just four points and four rebounds in 12 minutes, the lowest scoring output of his career.
Head coach Mitch Johnson addressed the situation in his postgame press conference following Sunday’s Game 4 in Target Center.
“I just think that the amount of physicality that people play with him, at some level, you have to protect yourself. Every single play, on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose their physicality on him. I get it. We get it. That’s part of the game,” he said.
The 39-year-old play-caller continued to voice his frustration regarding the lack of protection for his star center.
“He’s gotten pushed down in transition, running freely. All this stuff,” he mentioned. “He doesn’t complain one time. We don’t complain. We don’t really give a s*. Excuse my language. But at some stage, he should be protected, and if not, he’s going to have to protect himself. And unfortunately, stuff like that happens.”
“He’s getting hit at every play. At times, you have to get a rebound, get a catch, try to stop them from scoring, protect the ball. And so, it’s gotten to the point that I don’t know what else to tell him. We’ve tried to give him fundamental direction on how to deal with it. And at times it seems like that’s not enough,” added Johnson.
The crowd went wild when Wembanyama walked off the floor with Minnesota leading by two, but the hosts never fully took advantage of the gift created by his absence.
“Victor went down early, and they did a great job. Those guys are very talented. They played great basketball. So, we had to fight,” mentioned fellow French starting center Rudy Gobert after posting a double-double in Game 4. “We stayed with it, and everyone made some great plays down the stretch.”
Despite his ejection, the Alien is not expected to face a league suspension. Therefore, he will remain available for Game 5 in San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center on Tuesday.
NBA Playoffs 2026
Eastern Conference
Quarterfinals (best-of-seven)
Detroit Pistons – Orlando Magic 4-3 (101-112, 98-83, 105-113, 88-94, 116-109, 93-79, 116-94)
Cleveland Cavaliers – Toronto Raptors 4-3 (126-113, 115-105, 104-126, 89-93, 125-120, 110-112, 114-102)
New York Knicks – Atlanta Hawks 4-2 (113-102, 106-107, 108-109, 114-98, 126-97, 140-89)
Boston Celtics – Philadelphia 76ers 3-4 (123-91, 97-111, 108-100, 128-96, 97-113, 93-106, 100-109)
Semifinals (best-of-seven)
Detroit Pistons – Cleveland Cavaliers 2-1 (111-101, 107-97, 109-116)
New York Knicks – Philadelphia 76ers 4-0 (137-98, 108-102, 108-94, 144-114)
Finals (best-of-seven)
Detroit Pistons – New York Knicks / New York Knicks – Cleveland Cavaliers
Western Conference
Quarterfinals (best-of-seven)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Phoenix Suns 4-0 (119-84, 120-107, 121-109, 131-122)
Los Angeles Lakers – Houston Rockets 4-2 (107-98, 101-94, 112-108, 96-115, 93-99, 98-78)
Denver Nuggets – Minnesota Timberwolves 2-4 (126-115, 114-119, 96-113, 96-112, 125-113, 98-110)
San Antonio Spurs – Portland Trail Blazers 4-1 (111-98, 103-106, 120-108, 114-93, 114-95)
Semifinals (best-of-seven)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Los Angeles Lakers 3-0 (108-90, 125-107, 131-108)
San Antonio Spurs – Minnesota Timberwolves 2-2 (102-104, 133-95, 115-108, 109-114)
Finals (best-of-seven)
Winners of Semifinals
NBA Finals 2026 (best-of-seven)
Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions