Victor Wembanyama was sensationally ejected from the San Antonio Spurs showdown against Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night for elbowing Naz Reid in the throat.

Wembanyama was whistled for an offensive foul as soon as he struck Reid, who had swarmed the NBA Defensive Player of the Year outside the paint along with teammate Jaden McDaniels after the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama rebounded a missed 3-pointer by the Spurs. 

Seemingly losing his temper, the Frenchman then swung his elbow back round behind him in fury, striking Reid on the side of his neck. 

After a video review of the play, with the fans at Target Center chanting, ‘Kick him out! Kick him out!,’ the foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 for excessive contact above the neck.

He appeared to ask his teammate Harrsion Barnes ‘what does that mean?’ after the decision was announced, before pointing to himself and asking ‘I’m ejected?’ 

The 22-year-old Wembanyama, who is nicknamed ‘The Alien’, then headed down the tunnel to huge cheers from the Timberwolves fans in Minnesota. 

Victor Wembanyama was ejected for an elbow on Naz Reid in Sunday night’s NBA playoff game

Reid fell to the ground before Wembanyama was kicked out of Game 4 in a huge moment 

By his high standards, Wembanyama had been pretty quiet before being kicked out. He had four points and four rebounds to his name to show for 12 minutes of action. 

But the decision from the referees to eject Wembanyama was a huge moment and the correct decision.

Wembanyama’s Spurs teammate, Dylan Harper, could even been seen watching on in shock after seeing the guard lash out on Reid. It appeared that right away, Harper knew Wembanyama was facing big trouble. 

Going into the game, Spurs led the series 2-1 but were trailing at the time their star man saw red. The Timberwolves led 60-56 at the halftime interval.

In Game 3, it was a Wembanyama masterclass that led his team to victory. He had 39 points, 15 rebounds and more game-wrecking defense.

‘It was like holding the ship together. We had a lead. We didn´t need to rush. We needed to be consistent,’ Wembanyama said of his display that night, sounding far more composed than what everyone saw on Sunday.

San Antonio will now be nervously waiting to find out if Wembanyama will be banned from Game 5, too. The NBA is expected to review the incident on Monday.

Wembanyam appeared to lose his cool after tussling for the ball with Reid and Jaden McDaniels

Wembanyama tried to motivate his teammates before making his way off the court

The Spurs missed Wembanyama for 18 games in the regular season and went 12-6 but losing him mid-game in the playoffs posed a different problem. 

Wembanyama gave every Spurs teammate a high-five before he left the court in Minnesota. 

Reid, meanwhile, picked himself up and sank both free throws to give the Timberwolves a 38-34 lead.