Victor Wembanyama had a monster night on Friday to lead the Spurs to a rather stunning overtime win over the New York Knicks, with the rookie star scoring 40 points, pulling down 20 rebounds, and dishing out seven assists.
It was Wembanyama’s first 40/20 game, and at the end he showed how much the win meant to him when he intercepted the Knicks final pass downcourt, hugged the ball (much like Tim Duncan), and then launched the ball into the crowd in celebration. That last part drew the attention of the league, as the NBA frowns on throwing things into the crowd, and Wembanyama got slapped with the first fine of his career, sending the league office a $25,000 donation on Sunday.
After the Spurs faced the Warriors on Sunday and came close to upsetting another playoff hopeful — with Wemby scoring 32 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks — he was asked about whether he was surprised by the fine. The young Frenchman noted that he knew it was a possibility, but he was hopeful the league would see that his intent was to “make some guy’s day” by throwing the ball into the crowd and let it be.
Wemby on being fined $25,000:
“I know players have gotten fined for throwing the ball in the stands before, but they did it with bad intent. I was just doing it to make someone’s day.” pic.twitter.com/LjilePLBmS
— WembyMuse (@Wemby_Muse) April 1, 2024
Unfortunately, the league doesn’t particularly care about intent in this instance, but I do like the thought from Wemby. There are certainly levels to throwing things into the crowd, and this was a celebratory one where he was just trying to give someone a great souvenir rather than angrily chucking the ball into the stands.