San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will not receive a flagrant foul for shoving New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson to the floor during Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday, a league spokesperson confirmed to ESPN's Shams Charania on Tuesday night.. The play, which occurred with 4:44 left in the first quarter, drew no foul call during the game, and the league decided against an upgrade despite acknowledgment from its own officiating chief that a foul should have been whistled. Wembanyama remains at two flagrant points for the postseason, one more flagrant foul away from triggering an automatic suspension.

Why two flagrant points matter — and how close Wembanyama is to a suspension

Under NBA rules, any player who accumulates four flagrant points during the playoffs serves an automatic one-game suspension. Wembanyama currently sits at two points,meaning one flagrant foul 1 (one point) or a single flagrant foul 2 (two points) in any remaining game would push him past the threshold. According to ESPN's reporting, Wembanyama's first two points came from a flagrant foul 2 penalty for elbowing Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid in the jaw during Game 4 of the second round — a hit that resulted in an ejection but no additional fine or suspension. The league's calculus now carries playoff-series implications: the Spurs lead the Knicks 2-1 and face Game 5 with Wembanyama playing on a tightrope.

Monty McCutchen's admission: a foul that should have been called

NBA senior vice president of referee development and training Monty McCutchen told ESPN's NBA Today on Tuesday that the no-call on the Brunson shove was a mistake. “A foul should have been called on the play,” McCutchen said, according to ESPN. Despite that public acknowledgment from the league's top officiating executive, the league office chose not to upgrade the missed call to a flagrant foul. The decision suggests that the NBA's review process considered the contact intentional but not severe enough to warrant a retroactive penalty. Wembanyama's size — the 7-foot-4 center dwarfed Brunson — may have influenced how the play was judged in real time, but the league's own admission of an error raises questions about consistency in postseason officiating.

The Naz Reid incident: accidental contact or a second strike?

Wembanyama's two flagrant points stem from a play in the second round that the league deemed an accident.. According to the source article, the elbow to Naz Reid's jaw was assessed as flagrant foul 2 for “excessive contact above the neck,” triggering an automatic ejection . However, the league did not impose any further discipline,including a fine, because it “took into consideration the fact that it was an accidental contact,” the report says. That leniency now creates a pattern: both the Reid elbow and the Brunson shove involved forceful contact with an opponent's upper body, yet neither resulted in supplemental punishment beyond the original call (or lack thereof). the cumulative effect is that Wembanyama has two flagrant points without any subsequent league action that might deter future borderline plays.

Three games in, a pattern of physicality with no penalty

The NBA Finals are a best-of-seven series currently tilted toward San Antonio, with the Spurs holding a 2-1 lead heading into Game 5. As ESPN reported, Wembanyama's physicality has been a recurring topic throughout the playoffs, with some critics arguing he has benefited from a longer leash. The shove on Brunson was not called live; the Reid elbow drew a flagrant but no fine. If the league is indeed giving the rookie star the benefit of the doubt, it may be because his physical play is seen as part of his competitive edge rather than as dirty tactics. What remains unknown is whether the NBA will continue this tolerance if a future incident causes injury. The suspension threshold is real, and Wembanyama's next flagrant foul — even a marginal one — could force a critical absence in the postseason's highest-stakes games.