The San Antonio Spurs scored a shocking victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder to eliminate them from the NBA Cup tournament. Victor Wembanyama led the charge in his first game back from injury with many great plays proving to be the difference. Oklahoma City saw their 16-game winning streak snapped in a shocking defeat with extra incentives on the line.
Wembanyama made some insulting comments towards Chet Holmgren before the game and celebrated with more emotion after the victory. The win against his rival player and the top team in the league was important to the Spurs phenom than an average game. However, Wemby also used the post-game interview to mock the Thunder a little more.
“I’m just glad to be part of something that’s growing to be so beautiful – pure and ethical basketball,” Wembanyama said about San Antonio’s playing style and effort. The comment is a clear shot at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the Oklahoma City roster that often benefits from foul calls. Players, fans, and pundits have used the term “unethical” to describe the foul baiting that often helps the Thunder win games.
Wembanyama Called Out Common Thunder Criticism
Oklahoma City’s historically great start to the season creates more conversations about them and how fans react to their accomplishments. Gilgeous-Alexander is generally respected as a beloved player, but the foul calls he gets lead to a lot of fan resentment. Other players complaining about it has made it a real issue to cause some push back against the Thunder.
Various players from Oklahoma City actually were upset about the officiating last night since they didn’t get some of the usual calls and the Spurs got more foul calls in the final minutes. Both Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein were caught walking to the locker room and having some unhappy words about the loss.
Wembanyama will likely have a lot of support since most fans that don’t have a rooting interest in the Thunder’s success are tired of the foul baiting. Oklahoma City will have to win big games without the referee advantage always favoring them if they want to repeat as NBA Champions.
Wembanyama Confirmed A Strong New Rivalry
Many wanted to view the Spurs vs Thunder as a rivalry as recently as last season due to young centers Wembanyama and Holmgren not liking each other. However, intense moments in important games build a rivalry, like last night’s game with NBA Cup ramifications on the line.
Both the pre-game comments saying Holmgren relies on playing with an MVP to help him and the post-game comments trolling the losing opponent added more hostility moving forward. The big Christmas day rematch will see fans having more investment in this game than they would have otherwise before last night.
Wembanyama clearly doesn’t like Holmgren or the Thunder to make these games more meaningful. Both teams being quite young with many top talents all means they’ll have plenty of chances to face off in must-watch games over the next few years as a rivalry.
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