Victor Wembanyama gets away with a dirty hit on Jalen Brunson in Game 3

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Victor Wembanyama gets away with a dirty hit on Jalen Brunson in Game 3

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Jun 8, 2026 9:42 PM ET

The biggest player on the court was picking on the smallest player on the court during Game 3.

The San Antonio Spurs met the New York Knicks on Tuesday for the thrid installment of their NBA Finals series. In the first quarter at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. though, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama sparked backlash due to his dirty play on Knicks counterpart Jalen Brunson.

During a Knicks offensive possession, Brunson and Wembanyama were jostling for position off the ball. Brunson got up into Wembanyama’s chest, and Wembanyama responded with a vicious hit in retaliation.

Wembanyama shoved Brunson with some force in the back of the head and neck area, resulting in Brunson crashing to the floor. Here is the video of the play.

Interestingly enough, no foul was called on the play as it appears that the officials missed the incident completely. Because there was no whistle on that sequence either, the refs could not initiate a retroactive review for a hostile act.

While Wembanyama’s talent is obviously undeniable, he is quickly developing a reputation for childish and flat-out dirty moves during games. He notably hit Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso with a similar move in the Western Conference Finals and was even ejected from a game in the second round after elbowing Minnesota Timberwolves big man Naz Reid.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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