No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama speaks to reporters at a media event. Credit: Meradith Garcia

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has gone viral after dropping the F-bomb on national television.

The incident happened Saturday, during NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis. During an appearance on TNT’s Inside the NBA show, host Ernie Johnson asked the 20-year-old Frenchman to give an example when Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich had been tough on him.

“Sometimes he tries to send a message,” Wembanyama said. “I remember maybe two, three months into the season, we are in the film in front of everybody, and he goes, ‘What the fuck is this? This is what you were doing since day one.’ So, yeah, sometimes he tries to send messages.”

Although Wembanyama didn’t seem phased by what he’d uttered, the rest of the show’s cast, including Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley —the latter of whom has made taunting San Antonio part of his brand — burst into laughter.

Wembanyama’s slip-up was wasn’t cut from the live broadcast.

Wemby — the first pick in the 2023 draft — was in Indianapolis for the NBA All-Star Weekend’s Team Top Picks skill challenge, which also featured 2020 No. 1 draft pick Anthony Edwards and 2022 No.1 draft pick Paolo Banchero. The Spurs rookie also took part in the weekend’s Rising Stars game, where he scored 11 points, grabbed seven rebounds and stepped up for two blocks.

The 11-4 Spurs are still on their annual Stock Show and Rodeo road trip and won’t return home until the Feb. 29 matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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This article appears in Feb 7-20, 2024.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...