The NBA has announced its punishment for the fan who interrupted Game 1 of the NBA Finals by running onto the court to try and snap a selfie with San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.
“The individual who entered the court area during Game 1 of The Finals was arrested & will be banned for life from all NBA arenas,” an NBA spokesperson told the Associated Press on Thursday, June 4. “A second individual will also receive a lifetime ban for his role in the incident.”
The incident occurred with 6:28 remaining in the fourth quarter of the game between the Spurs and New York Knicks. The fan, who has not been identified as of this writing, ran onto the court with his phone in-hand, approaching the Spurs star and interrupting live play.
Frost Bank Center security quickly apprehended him and forced him off the court. Play resumed a moment later with a jump ball.
The Knicks won the game, 105-95, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama, 22, told reporters after the game. “I didn’t know how to act. It really surprised me, almost as much as that time [when] a bat crossed the court.”
During a game in January 2024, a bat delayed a Spurs game against the Minnesota Timberwolves when it flew onto the court. The Spurs mascot, conveniently dressed in a Batman costume at the time, eventually captured it with a net.
After Game 1, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson tried to downplay the fan incident, crediting arena security for quickly getting the fan off the court.
“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.”
The fan’s lifetime ban shouldn’t come as a surprise. Not only is the punishment typical for fans who disrupt play in other sports, it’s written in the NBA’s Code of Conduct, which reads in part, “guests who engage in fighting, throwing objects, or attempting to enter the court will be immediately ejected from the arena.”
The Code of Conduct also states that fans who enter the court are subject to, “ejection without refund, revocation of their season tickets, and/or prevention from attending future games. They may also be in violation of local ordinances, resulting in possible arrest and prosecution.”
To make matters worse for the fan, he didn’t even get the selfie he wanted. Popular X account BrickCenter obtained his cell phone video, which showed him running onto the court yelling “Wemby! Wemby!” The video revealed that security overtook him before he could snap a pic with the 7’4” Wembanyama, who was too tall to fit into the frame.
The Knicks and Spurs will play Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday, June 5 in San Antonio.
