SAN ANTONIO — A fan who ran onto the Frost Bank Center court during the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s NBA Finals and attempted to take a selfie with San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was arrested and given a lifetime ban from all NBA arenas, a league spokesperson said Thursday.
The incident, which halted play during the New York Knicks‘ 105-95 Game 1 victory, occurred with 6:28 remaining and New York holding a 92-86 lead. The fan ran onto the court with a cellphone in his right hand, stopped in front of Wembanyama and Knicks center Mitchell Robinson near the 3-point line and then quickly was pushed away by two security guards as he attempted to take the picture.
“A second individual will also receive a lifetime ban for his role in the incident,” the NBA spokesperson said.
Replays showed Wembanyama looking confused and smiling in the direction of the phone as the fan approached him. “I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama said. “I didn’t know how to act. It really surprised me, almost as much as that time [when] a bat crossed the court,” before a January 2024 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After security apprehended the fan, the game was further delayed because Spurs guard Dylan Harper lost control of the ball while being guarded by Knicks forward Mikal Bridges shortly before the incident. After huddling, the officiating crew called for a jump ball at center court because it was unable to determine which team last had possession of the ball. Wembanyama won the tip and the game continued.
The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement Thursday confirming that the fan who made it onto the court was a juvenile, before adding, “we are prohibited by law from discussing any information or details regarding the case.”
After the game, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson brushed off the fan incident as much ado about nothing.
“I don’t think it was an event at all,” he said. “I thought security got him out of there. I think everybody moved on to the next play.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday that the issue of spectators running onto the court during games is “unfortunately part of all sports.”
“I even hesitate to describe that person as a fan,” Silver said, after attending a community service event in San Antonio. “They seemed to have an ulterior motive for doing so. … The other side of the coin of global attention is that somebody realizes there’s an enormous platform to do stupid things. … They will be banned for life, not just from [Frost Bank Center] but every arena in the NBA. The consequences are dramatic if you do this.”
