San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is encouraging fans not to physically assault one another because of their NBA Finals rooting interests.
Wembanyama, 22, was asked during a Tuesday, June 9 press conference about videos circulating on social media appearing to show New York Knicks fans beating up Spurs fans on the streets of New York City.
“My thoughts of course [are] that we can’t forget it’s a game,” he said. “We’re just playing a game out there. I am all for passion, but [with] the respect of each other. It’s unacceptable.”
The videos came after the Spurs won Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals, defeating the Knicks, 115-111, on Monday, June 8, to pull to within 2-1 in the series. It was the first Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999.
The NYPD told ABC News that after Game 3, they arrested at least 21 people over incidents involving fans.
“The game is built off of respect and passion,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns added on Tuesday. “We want everyone to respect each other. We want everyone to enjoy basketball at its purest state. It’s the NBA Finals. There’s no better place to watch basketball. Leave the physicality to everyone on the court.”
Wembanyama and Towns, 30, were far from the only ones to denounce fan violence. Spurs forward Julian Champagnie, a Brooklyn native who played many of his college home games at Madison Square Garden with the St. John’s Red Storm, also weighed in.
“I feel we’re here to play a basketball game. That’s the main thing,” he said. “I feel like, for the fans, it should never be that serious where you have to jump people, beat people up, follow people home. Whether we win, they win, it doesn’t really matter. Everybody should be able to come and enjoy the game, no matter who they’re rooting for.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wasted no time in rubbing the Knicks’ dominant Eastern Conference Finals performance in the face of Ohio native and 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Shortly after the Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday, May 25, Mamdani, 34, re-posted a social […]
Actor Ben Stiller, an avid Knicks fan who has been a fixture on Celebrity Row throughout the playoffs, voiced his concern via X.
“Being a Knick fan doesn’t mean being disrespectful to Spurs fans in any way,” he wrote on Tuesday. “We get caught up during the games but we gotta show respect to our fellow humans…”
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani agreed, quoting Stiller’s post and adding, “Couldn’t agree more. We’ll win this series on the court (even if the refs refuse to call a flagrant on Wemby), not by targeting, harassing, or attacking Spurs fans. Knicks in 5.”
The Knicks and Spurs continue their NBA Finals series on Wednesday, June 10 with Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.
