Victor Wembanyama put up underwhelming stats as the San Antonio Spurs lost Game 5 of the Western Conference finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. It was a golden opportunity for Wembanyama and Co. to take a 3-2 lead and play a closeout Game 6 at home against the defending NBA champions.
However, Wembanyama had his worst game of the series and arguably the 2026 NBA playoffs. He managed 20 points and six rebounds on 4-for-15 shooting in the 127-114 loss. Wembanyama’s decision-making and aggressiveness offensively weren’t the same as seen before in the postseason.
His lack of production was seemingly the most influential factor in the Spurs’ defeat. Even Spurs’ coach Mitch Johnson called Wembanyama out for not scoring over 20 points.
“He’s got to take more than 15 shots, even with the free throws, and yeah, he’s gonna have to score more than 20 points for sure,” Johnson said.
After the game, Wembanyama left without addressing the media in his scheduled post-game press conference. He left the locker room close to midnight Central Time.
As if struggling for the entire game didn’t take a toll on Victor Wembanyama, he then had to face immense scrutiny from NBA fans for ducking the media.
“It’s time for the broadcast and national landscape to stop glorifying this guy,” one fan wrote.
“Weak,” another added.
“This ain’t it,” one fan said.
“That’s just soft. Gotta be a leader and take responsibility, man,” one fan wrote.
“Not a great move, the rest of the team answered questions. As the leader of this team, Wemby should have as well,” another said.
“Bad look on Wemby, but he’s young,” one fan said.
Kendrick Perkins slams Victor Wembanyama’s performance in Spurs’ Game 5 loss
Kendrick Perkins went no-holds-barred in describing Victor Wembanyama’s underwhelming performance in the Spurs’ Game 5 loss to the Thunder. Perkins boldly claimed Wembanyama got “punked” by Oklahoma City. He predicted Wembanyama’s performance after the Spurs star failed to assert himself early on.
“Wemby got punked last night,” Perkins said Wednesday on ESPN’s Get Up. “He got punked. They were whispering sweet things in his ear. … When I saw Wemby come out and want to be a guard, I said it was going to be a long night for him. When he decides to be a big man first with guard skills, it’s when he dominates.”
Kendrick Perkins credited Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams for stopping Victor Wembanyama from getting to his spots easily. The Thunder’s center rotation ensured they were physical enough not to foul and allow Wembanyama to get to his spots, especially inside the paint, where he can do the most damage.
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