Victor Wembanyama clarifies “ethical” comment before NBA Cup title game
On Saturday night, The San Antonio Spurs have improved to the final round of the NBA Cup by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinal game, ending their 16-game winning streak. It was an epic performance from Victor Vembanyama in limited minutesmaking some clutch shots and also controlling the game on defense.
After the game, Wembanyama raised eyebrows with his comments about Spurs’ “ethical basketball”, which many took as a slight against the Thunder and their alleged baiting.
Now, the former number one overall draft pick has added some more context to those comments.
“In modern basketball, we see a lot of basketball brands that don’t offer a lot of variety,” Vembanyama told Oh No, Not on X, formerly Twitter.
Overall, the Thunder, and especially point guard Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, drew criticism for their perceived fouling on one end of the floor while trying to make calls on the other end. It should be noted that Oklahoma City is not unique in this regard, and the Spurs both now and during their dynastic years have had players known for embellishing contact to draw whistles.
Still, Wembanyama’s comments come at a time when many fans are beginning to see the Spurs as the Thunder’s biggest potential threat in the Western Conference, and as Wembanyama’s apparent rivalry with Thunder forward Chet Holmgren continues to simmer.
The Spurs and Thunder will have two more games against each other in the coming weeks, the first of which will be played on December 23rd in San Antonio. Then, two days later, the teams will meet again, this time in Oklahoma City for a Christmas game.
Before that, however, the Spurs will try to win the NBA Cup Tuesday night against the New York Knicks.
2025-12-15 23:24:00
