After Victor Wembanyama looked nearly unstoppable in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder had no option but to ramp up the physicality on the 7’5 French star in Game 2. Consequently, they managed to tie the series with a 122-113 win over the Spurs.
However, players like Isaiah Hartenstein came under fire from NBA fans for being too physical on Victor Wembanyama and being allowed to play through it by officials.
Subsequently, Charles Barkley appeared on the Inside the NBA show and expressed his opinions on the widespread criticism that the Thunder were receiving for their intense physicality on the court.
“You people at home and TV talking about they were physical with Wemby, man, y’all need to stop it. I’ve been kissed harder.”
“Was he physical, putting the body on him? I love Hartenstein, but he just put a body on Wemby. He wasn’t overly aggressive, he didn’t hit anybody, and there were no excessive fouls. For you people thinking that’s physicality, y’all need to shut the hell up!” yelled Barkley.
Isaiah Hartenstein fouled Wemby on every single play when he was in the game and the refs did NOTHING about it pic.twitter.com/x4sLwGyGMp
— Land of Lowlights (@LoLowlights) May 21, 2026
Not just with Wembanyama but overall inside the paint, Hartenstein received a lot of criticism for his physicality on players like Stephon Castle as well. Following the Thunder tying the series in Game 2, Hartenstein spoke to the media where he addressed his matchup with Wembanyama.
“I think in the first game they were a little bit more physical than we were. And so just coming into this game just wanted to to establish that early um and just do whatever the team needs and I’m just kind of one of those players that brings physicality to the game and I think that’s just kind of what we needed.”
“But in general I think everyone just stepped up to physicality. Chet was big in the second half just being more physical and yeah in general I think just as a team we did a better job doing that,” Hartenstein said while justifying his physicality in the paint in Game 2.
“I mean, when you play a team sport, you have to really put your ego aside. And I trust Mark’s decisions a lot. And so, he does a great job of just communicating before what kind of your role is kind of going to be. And so, going into game one, I kind of knew what it was going to be.”
“And then, yesterday, he sat me down again. He just like didn’t really like he kind of apologized, but it was more like, ‘Hey, just be ready. um your numbers going to be called more and we’re going to try to do something different.”
“But again, Mark’s a great coach. I trust him and if you want to play in a team sport, if you want to play on a team like this, you really have to put your ego aside and do what’s best for the team,” he further added on doing whatever was necessary to stop Wembanyama.
After a 41-point explosion in Game 1, Hartenstein managed to hold Wembanyama to 21 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists in Game 2, where he shot 8-16 from the floor (50.0 FG%) and 3-7 from beyond the arc (42.8 3P%).
As compared to most of his shots in the paint in Game 1, Wembanyama only had five field goals in the paint in Game 2, showing how well Hartenstein held him in the paint without seemingly fouling (Wembanyama had only two free throws the entire night).
Meanwhile, the Thunder big man finished the game with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists in 27 minutes of action, where he shot 4-8 from the floor (50.0 FG%).
The Thunder are now headed to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4 of this series on the road. There was a rampant debate that the league is become to soft as compared to the previous generation where the offensive players are getting a lot more protection from aggressive defense.
Barkley is simply emphasizing that this level of physicality should be acceptable, especially in the playoffs. Do you agree with him? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
