Victor Wembanyama was ejected from the San Antonio Spurs showdown against Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night for elbowing Naz Reid in the throat.
Wembanyama had just claimed the ball in the middle of the second quarter with 8:39 left to play before grappling to maintain possession.
Seemingly losing his temper, the Frenchman then swung his elbow back round behind him in fury, striking Reid on the side of his neck.
He appeared to ask his teammate Harrsion Barnes ‘what does that mean?’ after the decision was announced as a flagrant 2, before pointing to himself and asking ‘I’m ejected?’
Wembanyama, who stands at 7 feet 4 inches, then headed down the tunnel to huge cheers from the Timberwolves fans at Target Center in Minnesota.
By his high standards, Wembanyama had been pretty quiet before being kicked out. He had four points and four rebounds to his name to show for 12 minutes of action.
Victor Wembanyama was ejected for an elbow on Naz Reid in Sunday night’s NBA playoff game
Going into the game, Spurs lead the series 2-1 but were trailing at the time their star man saw red. The Timberwolves led 60-56 at the halftime interval.
In Game 3, it was a Wembanyama masterclass that led his team to victory. He had 39 points, 15 rebounds and more game-wrecking defense.
San Antonio will now be nervously waiting to find out if Wembanyama will be banned from Game 5, too.
The Spurs missed Wembanyama for 18 games in the regular season and went 12-6.
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