The Minnesota Timberwolves secured a key Game 1 victory against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Playoffs conference semifinals, where history was made with Victor Wembanyama setting a record of 12 blocks in a single playoff game, but for Chris Finch and Rudy Gobert, it was highly controversial.
Finch was asked about officiating on Tuesday, and he was confused as to how clear goaltending could frequently get missed in a playoff game. Some were not even close to being clean blocks. The Timberwolves felt “at least four” of Victor Wembanyama’s 12 blocks were goaltends.
“You know the value of eight points in an NBA game? That’s 33 percent of his blocks,” said Chris Finch. And then Rudy Gobert joked, “I want that type of treatment, too,” which made clear their disagreement with the officiating decisions.
Controversial decisions during the game
Throughout the game, it was plainly obvious that the refs were giving Wembanyama a lenient whistle. Some fouls went uncalled. And then, on at least three occasions, Wemby had clear goaltending violations go uncalled, which was unusual, especially in the playoffs.
Wembanyama was credited with seven blocked shots in the first half, as the Wolves struggled to adapt to playing an opponent with such imposing rim protection after Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets rolled out the red carpet for them on nearly every drive in their first-round series win.
Wembanyama was aggressive in challenging shots on Monday night while facing his countryman and mentor, Rudy Gobert, who has a record four Defensive Player of the Year awards.
What will the Timberwolves do about it?
Finch said the Timberwolves would not submit any plays to the league for review because he knows that would not change the outcome of a game that has already been played. But the comments were already made, and it was a clear message to the league.
“We’re going to keep coming,” Finch said. “We’ve got to make some better decisions in how we attack the rim. But all credit to the guys for not being discouraged. We should’ve walked away with another eight points.”
