Kevin O’Connor was stunned that Victor Wembanyama avoided a flagrant foul after appearing to close into Jalen Brunson’s landing space during Knicks-Spurs Game 5.
The flashpoint came in a Finals game already loaded with pressure, with New York trying to clinch the championship and San Antonio fighting to keep its season alive.
In that kind of setting, every whistle matters. This one stood out because it involved the Knicks’ best player and the Spurs’ franchise star.
Kevin O’Connor questions Victor Wembanyama flagrant no-call
As Kevin O’Connor wrote, the no-call looked clear to him: “I can’t believe that wasn’t a flagrant on Wemby. Very clearly was in Brunson’s landing zone. Couldn’t be more obvious.”
The issue was not simply contact. It was where Wembanyama’s foot and body appeared to be as Brunson came down from a jump shot.
The NBA has treated landing-space plays seriously since the closeout rule became a major player-safety point. If a defender moves under a shooter and takes away the landing area, officials can review it as a reckless closeout and assess a flagrant foul.
That is why O’Connor reacted so strongly. Brunson is already undersized compared to Wembanyama, and any contact underneath him after a shot carries obvious injury risk.
A flagrant call also would have mattered beyond that single possession. In the playoffs, flagrant foul points accumulate, and enough points can trigger an automatic suspension. Even if this specific play had only been a Flagrant 1, it would have added to Wembanyama’s postseason total.
Knicks-Spurs Game 5 tension rises around Brunson and Wembanyama
Game 5 was being played at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, with the Knicks leading the NBA Finals 3-1.
That meant New York could win its first title since 1973, while the Spurs needed Wembanyama to drag the series back to Madison Square Garden.
The matchup already had enough drama after Game 4, when the Knicks erased a 29-point deficit and won 107-106 behind Brunson and OG Anunoby.
Brunson entered Game 5 as the engine of New York’s offense, while Wembanyama was San Antonio’s defensive anchor and biggest matchup problem.
That made the landing-zone moment more than a routine officiating debate. It touched the two players defining the series.
O’Connor’s anger was really about consistency and safety. In a Finals game this big, a missed flagrant can change momentum, discipline, and trust in the whistle.
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