NBA Acknowledges Missed Foul in Game 3 Finals Matchup as Victor Wembanyama Review Looms

The NBA has acknowledged a significant officiating miss during Game 3 of the Finals matchup between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.

On Tuesday, June 9, the day following the contest, NBA head of officiating Monty McCutcheon spoke with ESPN about one of the evening's most debated moments, confirming that referees failed to call a foul on the play.

The incident in question involved Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama appearing to shove Knicks guard Jalen Brunson during the opening quarter.

"I think we can all agree that a foul was missed on that play. A big part of our job is on-ball, off-ball exchanges between referees. We did a poor job of that here where we got two people on-ball and we don't see the screening action," McCutcheon explained.

The league is currently reviewing the contact, which could lead to a retroactive flagrant foul being assessed against Wembanyama.

The play saw both Brunson and Wembanyama positioning themselves near the top of the key during a Knicks offensive set when Wembanyama extended his left arm into Brunson, who had his hand on the forward's jersey. The contact sent Brunson to the floor.

A retroactive flagrant foul could carry serious consequences. Per Sports Illustrated, such a ruling might result in a one-game suspension for Wembanyama heading into Game 4. The Spurs forward already accumulated two flagrant foul points following his ejection in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Timberwolves. League rules stipulate that players receiving more than three flagrant points face automatic suspension.

The league could also opt to assign Wembanyama a flagrant two, which would push him over the three-point threshold ahead of the upcoming Knicks-Spurs rematch.

McCutcheon elaborated on the complexity of such situations: "We want to make sure though that when we're impacting the game as referees, that we aren't killing the game or stifling the game, but allowing enough physicality where players can really perform, while not letting it go too far. And when you get a play like this that's on the demarcation line, there's going to be open debate about it."

When questioned about the incident following the game, Brunson kept his response measured: "Whatever you saw is what you saw."