French phenom Victor Wembanyama turned heads when he walked out on the media after the San Antonio Spurs‘ 127-114 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
The walkout was all the more shocking since Wemby was bestowed with the 2025-26 Magic Johnson award, which honors the NBA player who “best combines excellence on the court with cooperation and grace in dealing with the media and fans.”
Wemby was warned by the NBA for “violating media access rules” but escaped the $25,000 fine that other players had previously received for a similar violation.
Not a Good Look for Wemby, Spurs
Senior Spurs beat writer Michael C. Wright didn’t hold back on Wembanyama, calling his behavior unbecoming of a future MVP and franchise cornerstone.
“Bro you can’t do this,” Wright told “Howdy Partners” in a message directed to Wemby.
“I mean, you talk about wanting to be the greatest player that ever lived. You want all the championships, you want all the accolades.”
Wright suggested that Wemby didn’t want to face the music just because he “had a rough night” against the Thunder.
“Well, talking to the media when you had a rough night, that’s a part of it.”
Wright had earlier called Wemby’s actions “unfortunate.”
“I sort of watched him finish getting dressed and I just thought ‘OK he’s going to the podium any second now,’” he said a day later on his podcast.
“And so I asked Spurs PR, ‘Hey are you guys about to take him to the podium?’ And they’re like ‘No media tonight’.
“I’m like ‘What? No media? Alright, well, ‘how am I supposed to explain this?’.. And they’re sort of like ‘Just say he was unavailable for the media.’”
Wemby ‘Let off the Hook’
As Wright noted, Wemby endured a “rough night,” shooting 26.7% from the field, grabbing just six rebounds and failing to anchor the defense with his usual authority.
Meanwhile, NBA insider Chris Haynes revealed that the NBA let Wemby “off the hook” with a warning instead of fining him for skipping his media obligations. Mostrecently, Dillon Brooks was fined $25,000 for skipping his media assignment after the Memphis Grizzlies lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 NBA playoffs.
“…The reason he was not penalized for skipping media is that he was just, he was voted by the Pro Basketball Writers Association for being one of the most accommodating players to media, like being someone who comes, speaks, he’s forthcoming with that,” Haynes said on NBA TV.
“This is a one-time situation. Yeah, he’s only human. One-time situation where he did this, so they let him off the hook this time. So moving forward, they told him,if you do this again, they will have to fine him.”
Spurs vs Thunder Game 6 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. If the Spurs can stave off elimination, there will be a Game 7 on Saturday night in Oklahoma City.
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