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Victor Wembanyama was on thin ice entering Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals. The Spurs superstar only needed one more flagrant foul to trigger the automatic suspension that comes with four “flagrant points” throughout the playoffs.
It sure felt like Wembanyama committed a textbook flagrant foul in the third quarter of Game 5 for crowding Jalen Brunson’s landing spot on a made three-pointer, but the refs didn’t call it. The NBA can review and upgrade calls after the game, and if the league decides that this is indeed a flagrant, Wembanyama would miss a hypothetical Game 6.
Watch the play here.
This is the classic “Zaza Pachulia rule” — the league mandated that it’s a flagrant foul if a defender doesn’t give a jump shooter landing space after Pachulia injured Kawhi Leonard on a similar play in 2017.
UPDATE: Here’s another angle. It looks like Brunson potentially stuck his leg out in an unnatural way, which would mean Wembanyama doesn’t deserve the flagrant. It’s a judgement call.
The league already decided not to upgrade Wembanyama’s cheap shot on Brunson earlier in the series, and that sure felt like a flagrant, too. It would be a monumental bummer if Wembanyama missed a hypothetical Game 6 in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, but the rules are the rules. I think the four flagrant points is far too few for a suspension in the deep playoff run, but that’s how the rules are written.
It will be fascinating to see if this play is upgraded. If it is, Wembanyama won’t be playing if there’s a Game 6 in the NBA Finals.
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