Spurs coach blasts ‘disgusting’ officiating after Victor Wembanyama ejection

May 10, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) commits a level two flagrant foul against Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) in the second quarter of game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Wembanyama had to leave the game. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had some strong words for the officials after superstar Victor Wembanyama was ejected in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Early in the second quarter of Sunday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals, Wembanyama was ejected from the game after throwing an elbow at the jaw of Timberwolves forward Naz Reid early in the second quarter. With Wembanyama out of the lineup, the Spurs ultimately fell to the Timberwolves by a score of 114 to 109.

The incident happened when Reid swarmed Wembanyama defensively after he secured a rebound. Wembanyama responded by swinging an elbow that struck Reid in the face. Wembanyama was initially whistled for an offensive foul immediately after striking Reid. After a video review, however, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant 2 for excessive contact above the neck, which triggers an automatic ejection.

While Johnson did not exactly condone Wembanyama’s actions that ultimately led to the ejection, he had some strong words for the officials as he praised Wembanyama for protecting himself from the physical play and called it “disgusting” that the officials allowed him to deal with such physicality without any protection.

“Just the amount of physicality that people play with him, at some level, you have to protect yourself,” Johnson said of Wembanyama after the loss via ESPN. “Every single play on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose their physicality on you. He’s gotten pushed down in transition, running freely. We don’t complain because we’re just going to play. We don’t really give a [expletive]. But at some stage, he should be protected. If not, he’s going to have to protect himself, and unfortunately, stuff like that happens.