Tag: Irate

Victor Wembanyama is not to be trifled with, but apparently, Ivica Zubac didn’t get the memo. After getting his shot thrown by Wemby for the umpteenth time, he had enough and decided his only recourse was to shove Vic to the floor. Wembanyama’s reaction was more than we’ve ever seen before, and that says a lot for a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve.

Wemby is going to irritate players his entire career

It isn’t the first time the Alien has received a little extra physicality from guys. They get tired of getting treated like a little fella on TV in front of their peers, family, and friends. Zubac decided to take it a little too far here, though. There was no reason to send Vic sliding on the floor, but his feelings must have been hurt after being on the wrong side of a rejection only moments ago.

He yelled and stomped his feet, hoping for a whistle that was never coming (no need to penalize clean blocks, Zu’), and pretty much immediately came down the floor and did that. The Spurs responded on the floor, going on a run and reducing their double-digit deficit to a tie game the Clippers will have to fight to the finish.

This is just the beginning. This kid takes pride in defense, and he’s going to reject plenty of guys. Hell, we’re keeping track of the number of players he’s blocking on a nightly basis because it’s that impressive. Somewhat understandably, some athletes are going to get upset with him for doing so. It makes them look small, and he does it with such relative ease it only makes it more embarrassing.

Pride is a serious thing, and you need it to reach the heights of the NBA, but these guys also need to exhibit some self-control. We don’t need to see Wembanyama getting into any real altercations on the court, and he was charging Zubac like the bulls during the San Antonio Rodeo.

It’s nice to see that level of fight from the guys, though. They started playing with an energy fans wish they brought from the opening tip. Mitch Johnson was even off the bench screaming. He looked like he was close to his second technical foul of the season.

They didn’t win the game, but one thing is clear from the team’s reaction to the scrum: they’re a close-knit group. They have each other’s backs, and all Spurs fans can get behind that.