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Thirty seconds. It’s enough to change a lifetime.
Whether the final 30 seconds of Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals alter the course of San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama’s career remains to be seen, for the 7-foot-4 phenom is still only 22 years old, but there is no doubt he was shook in the biggest moment of a three-year journey into this league from France.
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At halftime, when Wemby had as many turnovers (2) as made field goals, Charles Barkley, the all-time player and broadcaster, already figured this Spur was shaken.
“Wemby’s in shock right now. It’s probably been a long time since he’s got his ass kicked like this. … When you’re a great player, very rarely do you get your ass kicked,” said Barkley, recalling two times — once in high school, by Lewis Jackson, and once in college, by Leonard Mitchell, when he had his own ass kicked in such a manner.
“Wemby’s spinning,” added Barkley. “He’s throwing the ball all over the place. It’s a shock to his system. He’s too young to understand. … He is so flustered right now. We can say what we want to: ‘He’s 22. He’s going to own the league soon.’ But, right now, Big KAT [Karl-Anthony Towns] is taking his ass to the woodshed, plain and simple.”
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The panel concurred: “KAT has him in shock.”
All of which helped set the stage for the last 30 seconds of what was a thriller — one the New York Knicks won, 105-104, swiping a 2-0 series lead — when a better version of Wembanyama had earned the right to be a hero, a GOAT, only to be, well, the goat.
Following his poor first-half performance, Wembanyama came to play in the second, pushing his total to 29 points on 11-for-19 shooting … until those final 30 seconds. It was his driving hoop-and-harm that gave the Spurs a 104-102 lead in the final minute.
Jalen Brunson, of course, doing what he does, tied the game, 104-104, with a fallaway jumper as the clock struck 39 seconds left, granting the stage back to Wembanyama.
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And you could explain away each of Wemby’s miscues in the ensuing moments.
He was going for a 2-for-1 when he took a contested long 2-pointer against Mitchell Robinson…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/nba-finals-breaking-down-the-most-brutal-30-seconds-of-victor-wembanyamas-career-063124338.html
Author : Ben Rohrbach
Publish date : 2026-06-06 06:31:00
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