Draymond Green Blasts Wembanyama Over Knicks Snub After 94-90 Finals Loss

Q: He won DPOY but lost the finals. Which will better define Wembanyama's season: individual dominance or questionable sportsmanship?

Wembanyama’s season will be defined more by individual dominance than by the handshake controversy. The larger body of work is too strong to ignore. At 22, he became the youngest unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, was an MVP finalist, a first-team All-NBA lock, and averaged about 25 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks. He also carried San Antonio to the Finals in just his third season and won Western Conference Finals MVP. Those are season-shaping achievements that place him among the league’s elite and frame 2025-26 as a breakthrough year. The sportsmanship criticism is real and will linger because it happened on the biggest stage. Walking off immediately after the Finals loss violated a strong NBA norm, and Draymond Green’s comments captured why many players view that moment as important. It also fed into a broader conversation about Wembanyama’s maturity after other playoff flashpoints, including an ejection, accusations of dirty play, and a prior skipped media session. Still, the incident looks more like a damaging snapshot than the defining portrait. He later faced reporters, gave a self-critical assessment, and his wider reputation is not that of a chronic bad actor; he also won the Magic Johnson Award for professionalism with media and fans. That does not erase the mistake, but it does provide context. What will likely endure is this: Wembanyama had a dominant, historic season, then ended it with a visible lapse in composure that became a lesson in leadership.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Jun 16

Draymond Green said Victor Wembanyama should have faced the Knicks after San Antonio’s 94-90 Game 5 defeat instead of heading straight to the tunnel.
On his Monday podcast, Green framed the exit as a failure of sportsmanship, saying a player must “look your killer in the face” after a series-ending loss.
The criticism followed a collapse in which the Spurs blew a 16-point lead and watched Jalen Brunson score 45 points to end New York’s 53-year title drought.
Wembanyama’s postgame departure quickly drew backlash from fans, analysts and players, turning the handshake snub into an immediate talking point after the Finals.