Wemby sets NBA playoff record with 12 blocks in Game 1 for Spurs (1:33)Wemby sets NBA playoff record with 12 blocks in Game 1 for Spurs (1:33)
Anthony SlaterMay 5, 2026, 04:38 PM ETMultiple Authors
SAN ANTONIO — Spurs center Victor Wembanyama set an NBA playoff record with 12 blocks in Monday night’s Game 1 loss, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are adamant that one-third of them shouldn’t have counted.
“At least four of them were goaltending,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “Maybe even a fifth. To me, it’s a little alarming that none of them were called.”
“Here’s a generational shot blocker, who is 7-foot-6 and goes after everything, and there’s no heightened awareness that these blocks could be a goaltend?” Finch asked. “The third possession of the game was a goaltend, and it was a clean obvious one.”
The other handful of non-goaltend calls that angered the Timberwolves were more borderline, including a second-quarter swat of a Naz Reid hook that might’ve been on the way down and a first-quarter block of Rudy Gobert that, at minimum, appeared to be a foul.
“Let’s just say there were four [goaltends],” Finch said. “That’s eight points. You know the value of eight points in an NBA game? It’s massive. That means 33% of his blocks were goaltending uncalled. If I were to give you a 33% raise, you’d like that, right? It’s a huge number.”
Gobert is teammates with Wembanyama on the French national team and has become somewhat of a mentor to the rising superstar, but the two are squared up in a competitive center matchup in this second round.
“He fouled me on the first one,” Gobert said. “But if you look at them, probably three or four [goaltends].”
The 7-foot-1 Gobert is 24th in career blocks and has long been considered one of the league’s best rim protectors. He had one block in Game 1.
Wemby sets NBA playoff record with 12 blocks in Game 1 for Spurs (1:33)Wemby sets NBA playoff record with 12 blocks in Game 1 for Spurs (1:33)
The Timberwolves were still glowing in the aftermath of their stunning 104-102 series-opening road win after Tuesday morning’s film session, but Finch, perhaps delivering a subtle nudge to the NBA and its officials in the upcoming games against Wembanyama, pivoted the first question of his press scrum toward the perceived goaltending.
“I wish I had that type of treatment, too,” he said.
Wemby sets NBA playoff record with 12 blocks in Game 1 for Spurs (1:33)
Anthony SlaterMay 5, 2026, 04:38 PM ETMultiple Authors