Wembanyama Shrugs Off Draymond Green's Flagrant Shove: 'It's Not Surprising'

Draymond Green shoved Victor Wembanyama to the floor from behind on Friday night, and Wembanyama answered with three words: “It’s not surprising.” The flagrant foul came with 6:47 left in the second quarter of San Antonio’s 123-85 NBA Cup win over Golden State, and it was Green’s first flagrant of the season. The Spurs did not need the incident to win the game. They were already up 45-22, and they won by 38.

What happened on the play?

Green ran at Wembanyama from behind as the Spurs star positioned himself for a rebound, and the forearm shove sent the 7-foot-4 centre tumbling out of bounds near the photographers. The play came just after Spurs guard Dylan Harper hit a corner three to put San Antonio up 45-22. Officials stopped the game, reviewed the contact, and called it a Flagrant 1, ruling that the shove included a wind up by Green. Wembanyama got up slowly, walked to the Spurs bench, and sat down holding his lower back while team-mates checked on him. He stayed in the game.

What did Wembanyama say?

Almost nothing, and that was the point. Asked about the flagrant after the game, Wembanyama said: “It’s not surprising.” He added that he feels very secure and knows he has to be smart, then finished the thought with a line aimed at the foul itself: “It’s not a good basketball strategy and it shows.” The three words did more work than any complaint could have. Wembanyama has now played Green twice in the NBA Cup, and both meetings have turned on a moment between them.

Why does this one land differently?

Because the two have history in this exact fixture. Almost exactly a year ago, in an NBA Cup game on November 15, 2025, Wembanyama threw down an alley-oop slam over Green that was called off, and the two exchanged words face to face. Green got the last laugh that night, as Golden State won 109-108. Friday was the rematch, and the roles flipped: Wembanyama’s team won by 38, and Green spent the rest of the first half on the bench after the flagrant. The shove also fits a pattern the league knows well. Green was ejected less than two weeks ago against Phoenix for two technical fouls in a scuffle with Dillon Brooks, and Friday’s foul was his first flagrant of this season and the 21st of his career including the playoffs. The preseason set the tone for this kind of officiating, with Scottie Barnes drawing the first push-off call under the new emphasis and Jalen Brunson a flopping technical a week later.

What is Green’s recent discipline record?

Short, and getting shorter. He committed three flagrant fouls in 68 games last season, and Friday’s was his first of 2026-27. The Phoenix ejection came in a scuffle with Dillon Brooks, and it put Green back in the discipline conversation before November was out. A Flagrant 1 does not trigger an automatic suspension, and the foul goes through the NBA’s normal postgame review. The question now is whether the league sees a one-off hard foul or the start of another pattern, and the answer will come from that review rather than from the arena.

How did the rest of the game go?

San Antonio never let the incident become the story of the night. Stephon Castle scored a season-high 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting, Wembanyama finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in 21 minutes for his 121st career double-double, and the Spurs led by 43 in the third quarter. Golden State, playing without Stephen Curry, had no starter reach double figures, and its only double-figure scorers were L.J. Cryer with 20 and Charles Bassey with 11. Curry is out at least two weeks with a right oblique tear suffered in a 115-108 loss in Houston on Wednesday, and the Warriors shot 5 for 25 in the opening quarter as San Antonio raced to a 38-14 lead. The Warriors have been dealing with absences all season, with Kristaps Porzingis away from the team and no return timeline, and Friday added a flagrant to the list.

What happens next?

The Warriors play at New Orleans on Monday, still without Curry, and the Spurs visit Utah on Sunday chasing a 12th straight win. The flagrant itself is now in the league’s hands, and the review will decide whether anything follows, as it did when Marcus Smart was suspended three games for punching Charles Bassey. Wembanyama, for his part, has already moved on. He said he feels secure, he knows he has to be smart, and the scoreboard said the rest. The Spurs have now won 11 straight, and the loudest statement of the night was not the shove but the margin.

November 14 note: The Wembanyama connection ran the other way on Wednesday, when Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson fractured his right hand trying to knock the ball out of Wembanyama’s hands and was ruled out for four to six weeks after surgery.