Victor Wembanyama may have made NBA playoff history on Monday night, but the Minnesota Timberwolves believe several of his biggest defensive plays should never have counted.
The Spurs superstar recorded 12 blocks in San Antonio’s narrow 104-102 Game One loss to Minnesota, setting a new NBA playoff record. But despite the defeat, much of the postgame conversation quickly shifted toward whether a number of those blocks were actually goaltends.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch did not hold back after reviewing the film Tuesday morning.
“At least four of them were goaltending,” Finch said. “Maybe even a fifth. To me, it’s a little alarming that none of them were called.”
Finch appeared intent on drawing attention to the issue ahead of Game Two, questioning how officials could miss multiple calls involving one of the league’s most unique defenders.
“Here’s a generational shot blocker, who is 7-foot-6 and goes after everything, and there’s no heightened awareness that these blocks could be a goaltend?” Finch asked. “The third possession of the game was a goaltend, and it was a clean obvious one.”
The play Finch referenced came early in the opening quarter when Wembanyama blocked a transition layup attempt from Terrence Shannon Jr. Replays appeared to show the ball touching the backboard before Wembanyama made contact, which would normally result in a goaltending violation.
Minnesota players echoed their coach’s frustration after the game.
“He fouled me on the first one,” Rudy Gobert said. “But if you look at them, probably three or four [goaltends].”
Gobert, who plays alongside Wembanyama for the French national team, also joked about the officiating disparity after finishing with just one block himself.
“I wish I had that type of treatment, too,” he said.
Finch later emphasized just how significant the missed calls may have been in a two-point game.
“Let’s just say there were four [goaltends],” Finch said. “That’s eight points. You know the value of eight points in an NBA game? It’s massive. That means 33% of his blocks were goaltending uncalled. If I were to give you a 33% raise, you’d like that, right? It’s a huge number.”
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