Reginald Thomas II / San Antonio Spurs
Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama high-fives teammate Devin Vassell during a matchup against the Houston Rockets earlier this season.
Wemby's fine-inducing behavior came in the final seconds of the Spurs' 130-126 overtime win over the playoff-bound New York Knicks at the Frost Bank Center. That's the same game in which Wemby scored an astonishing 40 points, grabbing 20 rebounds and making seven assists in the process.
The 2023 No. 1 draft pick caught a long pass for a steal at the buzzer. He then proceeded to high-five a fan sitting courtside and throw the rock a few rows back into the crowd.
Even though the move was clearly not malicious the NBA fined Wemby for his antics.Wemby throws Brunson’s 61-point game ball into the stands pic.twitter.com/7PyCNGfHMV
— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) March 30, 2024
The rookie, who will have earned more than $12 million by the time the season ends later this month, didn't seem too concerned about the financial penalty.
"I know players have gotten fined for throwing the ball in the stands before, but they did it with bad intent," Wembanyama told reporters following the Spurs 117-113 loss against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. "I was just doing it to make someone's day."
He added that he thought the entire situation was "funny."
The fine comes as the Silver and Black head into the home stretch of a disappointing season, that's once again left them at the bottom of the Western Conference.
The Spurs will play the Denver Nuggets Tuesday. San Antonio's final game of the season is a March 14 home matchup against the Detroit Pistons.
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