‘I’m Glad’: Spurs Coach Mitch Johnson Praises Victor Wembanyama for Protecting Himself, Lashes Out at Officials

Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama was ejected midway through the second quarter of Sunday night’s road loss to the Timberwolves, and his coach sounded pretty proud of the typically mild-mannered 22-year-old after the fact.

Wembanyama battled with Minnesota’s Naz Reid for a rebound, after which a foul was called on the floor. He then wound up and struck Reid in the neck with a violent elbow, and after a review, was assessed a flagrant 2 and ejected from the game. San Antonio led for much of the second half with Wemby out of the game, but would ultimately fall 114–109 as Anthony Edwards dominated the fourth quarter.

Wembanyama’s absence very well could have cost the Spurs a chance to go up 3–1 on the scrappy Wolves, and it is very difficult to argue that his ejection wasn’t warranted. A suspension could even be on the table, given how the league has treated similar plays in the past. However, coach Mitch Johnson wasn’t upset with his star center during the postgame press conference, lauding him for protecting himself while chastising officials for how physical opposing teams are allowed to be with Wemby.

Mitch Johnson’s comments on Victor Wembanyama’s ejection from the Spurs’ Game 4 loss to the Timberwolves

“It’s getting to a point that it’s—if the people that are in charge of controlling the game, and protecting the physicality of the game, don’t do that, then at some point he’s going to have to protect himself. We've been asking him to do that for a while,” Johnson said during the postgame press conference.

“So, that call, I’m glad Naz Reid was O.K., and it sounds like the call was warranted. But in terms of the game plan of every single team we've faced since [Wembanyama] has been in the league and the physicality that people try to impose on him, and the lack of protection, is really disappointing. And at some level, it’s starting to get actually disgusting, just in terms of when he tries to fight through things and be professional and mature and deal with some sort of that stuff.

“I’m glad he took matters into his own hands. Again, not in terms of hitting Naz Reid. I want to be very clear about that. I’m glad Naz Reid was O.K. and I didn't want him to elbow him. But he's going to have to protect himself if [the officials] are not. And I think it's disgusting.”

When asked about how he’d like to see the officiating change, Johnson reiterated that he understands the physicality of the game, but that if officials aren’t going to call more fouls on the things that he believes opposing players get away with, it comes down to Wemby protecting himself.

“He’s gotten chucked, he’s gotten pushed down in transition running freely, all the stuff. he doesn’t complain one time, we don’t complain because we’re just going to play. ... But at some stage, he’s should be protected, and if not, he’s going to have to protect himself and unfortunately stuff like that happens.

Should Wembanyama be suspended? Johnson calls the idea “ridiculous.”

When asked whether he believes Wemby could face further punishment ahead of Game 5, Johnson shut down the idea.

“No. Again, I don’t even know the legality or the rules but there was zero intent. They did what they did because of the outcome of the play, so be it, but to have anything on top of that I think would be ridiculous.

We should find out soon enough.

What did Naz Reid say about being elbowed by Wemby?

After the game, Reid was asked about how surprised by the elbow and how much it hurt. His answer was very simple:

“Pain is weakness leaving the body. That’s it.”

It certainly looked painful, but it didn’t appear to slow Reid down at all. In 31 minutes off the bench, he was second on the team behind Edwards with 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds and four assists.

The series returns to San Antonio on Tuesday night, with tipoff of Game 5 scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. NBC/Peacock will have the broadcast of the game.

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