Victor Wembanyama avoided a suspension for vicious elbow to Naz Reid. Of course that was the right call

Of course Victor Wembanyama should not have been suspended.

The San Antonio Spurs superstar did throw an elbow into Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid’s throat early in the second quarter of an eventual Game 4 defeat. The ejection cost his team the game and control of the Western Conference semis.

That was enough punishment. To remove him from Game 5 of this series would be a punishment to a viewing public that deserves a fair fight, and sure enough, the NBA on Monday reportedly decided it would issue no fine or suspension to Wembanyama.

We have no prior record of offenses to believe the elbow was anything more than a momentary lapse in judgment. And that was made difficult by Minnesota’s pressure.

Just look at the play.

Wembanyama had full control of the rebound. He was immediately fouled by Wolves wing Jaden McDaniels. No whistle was blown. McDaniels continued to wrap both his hands around Wembanyama’s left arm, leaving him in a vulnerable position. Still, no call was made. Then, in comes Reid, clutching at Wembanyama’s right side, creeping under his right arm, and there was little other place to turn than his opponent’s neck.

Did he put a little more force into the elbow than necessary? Sure. Did it result from his frustration over the way the Wolves were allowed to manhandle him? Absolutely.

As Spurs coach Mitch Johnson told reporters in the aftermath of his team’s hard-fought loss, “The amount of physicality that people play with him, . Every single play on every single part of the floor, people are trying to impose their physicality on him. We don’t complain because we’re just gonna play, we don’t really give a s***. But at some stage, he should be protected, and if not, he’ll have to protect himself and unfortunately stuff like that happens.”