Timberwolves accuse Wembanyama of goaltending after Spurs star sets NBA playoff block record | Victor Wembanyama

The Minnesota Timberwolves questioned whether Victor Wembanyama’s NBA playoff record of 12 blocks was legitimate.

The San Antonio Spurs star set the record during his team’s conference semifinal loss to the Timberwolves on Monday night. But Minnesota coach Chris Finch believes the officiating during the game was questionable.

“Historic night. But when we looked [Wembanyama’s blocks]at least four of them were goaltenders,” Finch said Tuesday. “To me, it’s a little alarming that none of them were called up. Here’s a generational shot blocker…and there’s no heightened awareness that these blockers could be goalies? The third possession of the game is a goalie. A clear and obvious answer. So let’s just say there were four [violations]that’s eight points. Do you know the value of eight points in an NBA game? It’s huge. That means 33% of his blocks were uncalled goaltending. If I were to give you a 33% raise, you’d love it, right? That’s a huge number. »

One egregious incident occurred early in the game when Wembanyama knocked away a Terrence Shannon Jr. layup that hit the backboard first, which should have resulted in a goalie call. Wembanyama was instead credited with a block.

Shannon said Tuesday he wouldn’t change his philosophy moving forward. “He’s going to have to block it every time, I’m not going to stop going down. I told him that when he said a little something,” Shannon said. “He’s going to have to block it every time, man. I know he’s not going to block it every time. I’m going to dunk him.”

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, Wembanyama’s France teammate, also said he thought the Spurs star had benefited from favorable calls.

“He fouled me in the first one,” Gobert said. “But if you look at them, probably three or four [goaltends].”

The second game of the series will take place on Wednesday.