NBA declines – After Victor Wembanyama shoved Jalen Brunson in Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals, the NBA reviewed the play and ultimately decided not to upgrade the incident to a flagrant foul or take further discipline—setting up Game 4 at Madison Square Garden with fresh heat
Less than 12 minutes were on the clock when tensions between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs boiled over in Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Monday night.
Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs All-Star center, shoved Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson. The moment landed with extra force because Wembanyama’s hand was in Brunson’s head-and-neck area. After Brunson got up to confront him. Wembanyama met him with laughter. an exchange that quickly became the highlight clip the rest of the game could not escape.
The officials did not call a foul on the play. The Spurs still went on to win 115-111, cutting the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1.
On Tuesday afternoon. NBA senior vice president and head of development and training for referee operations Monty McCutchen said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” that “a foul was missed on that play.” He added that the play would be reviewed to determine whether Wembanyama should be assessed a retroactive flagrant foul.
By Tuesday night, several NBA reporters relayed the NBA’s official decision: the league would decline upgrading Wembanyama’s actions to a flagrant foul. There will be no further discipline.
The ruling carries immediate math and bigger optics. Wembanyama already has two flagrant foul points this postseason. and avoiding a third is crucial to the Spurs’ chances of completing a comeback. The NBA’s framework is clear: four flagrant points leave a player vulnerable to an automatic suspension.
There’s also the broader trail of how the league has handled Wembanyama this spring. This was the third time this postseason the NBA has declined to follow what many consider its discipline norms involving him. Earlier in May. the NBA did not suspend him after he elbowed Minnesota’s Naz Reid. though Wemby was ejected from Game 5 in the Spurs’ series with the Timberwolves. The league also avoided a fine after a Game 5 loss to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals when he skipped out on his postgame media obligations—earning only a warning instead of punishment.
The sequence leaves the league walking a fine line: keep Wembanyama on the court and in the spotlight while facing growing questions every time a prior incident is treated differently.
The Spurs and Wembanyama will now turn to the next test with Game 4 at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, with the goal of evening the series—and with Knicks fans carrying the clip, the shove, and the league’s decision into a fresh round of scrutiny.
NBA 2026 NBA Finals Victor Wembanyama Jalen Brunson New York Knicks San Antonio Spurs flagrant foul referee review Monty McCutchen Madison Square Garden
So they just… didnt call it? Wild. NBA refs really be doing whatever.
I don’t get how it was “missed” and then still no retroactive flagrant. If his hand was in the head/neck area that’s not nothing.
This is why I can’t watch the Finals anymore lol. Next thing you know they’ll say he “laughed” so it wasn’t that serious. Also didn’t he already get ejected for the elbow thing? feels like they pick and choose what counts.
Retroactive flagrant points is such a weird system. Like if he already has two, why wouldn’t they protect the rules? I saw a clip where Brunson’s neck was basically touched and he got up like nothing happened. Refs should’ve manhandled the call harder in real time.