Victor Wembanyama was the tragic hero of the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Although the Frenchman led his team back into the game during a thrilling final stretch, his costly turnover seconds before the end sealed his team’s fate.
“I threw it away and messed up,” Wembanyama openly admitted after the game. “We absolutely had to win this game, and we had everything in our own hands.”
Yet Wembanyama had done so much right up to that point. With the score tied at 104-104, the center had to hold his ground against Jalen Brunson in a one-on-one matchup and forced a difficult mid-range shot from the Knicks star, which Wemby then collected. But instead of driving the ball forward himself, the big man threw it toward Stephon Castle, who wasn’t even looking in his direction.
The ball bounced off the guard’s back, Brunson stole it, and drew a foul from Wemby, who wasn’t in a defensive position. The point guard made his first free throw—that was enough, because Wemby missed the potential game-winner, a jumper over Mitchell Robinson. New York won 105–104.
THE FINAL 77 SECONDS OF GAME 2 WAS MADNESS
WATCH THE FULL SEQUENCE UNCUT pic.twitter.com/zgcPxnE0V4
— NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2026
Wemby defends his last shot
“I think it was a good shot,” the Frenchman defended his shot selection. “In moments like these, the results matter more than the process, and you just have to shoot to have a chance to score.” With 29 points (11/21 FG), nine rebounds, and four blocks, the former No. 1 pick was the hosts’ leading scorer. Ultimately, however, Wemby was only 4-for-10 from the field on jump shots.
Consequently, the Frenchman wasn’t really satisfied either. “I don’t need to find solutions. I just need to play normally, not even particularly well. (…) A lot of things aren’t clear to me yet, and that’s the problem. I need more control over the game.”
It’s high time, after all—the Spurs are only the third team in NBA history to lose the first two home games in the NBA Finals. This has only happened before in 1993 (Suns vs. Bulls) and 1995 (Magic vs. Rockets), and in both cases, the series could not be turned around afterward.
