The San Antonio Spurs completed a swift series victory in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Against the Minnesota Timberwolves in round two, however, the going hasn’t been so easy.
After being caught wrong-footed in Game 1, the Spurs retook control of the series with two straight wins. But with a chance to go up 3-1 in Game 4, Wembanyana made a brutal mistake that got him thrown out of the game. In a moment of reckless determination, he swung his elbow at Wolves’ defenders, striking Naz Reid in the face for a flagrant two foul. Just one day following the defeat, Wembanyama met with Spurs legend Gregg Popovich, who was seen talking with the young center outside the airport.
Gregg Popovich went straight to the airport to speak with Victor Wembanyama as soon as the Spurs landed back in San Antonio yesterday afternoon.
I’m also hearing nobody inside the Minnesota Timberwolves organization- players or coaches- expected Victor to be suspended for… pic.twitter.com/hFbzdj3TfQ
— SpursRΞPORTΞR (@SpursReporter) May 12, 2026
Gregg Popovich is a Spurs hero and coaching legend who led the locker room for 29 years. From 1996 to 2025, his tenure was marked with prosperity and success for both the Spurs and for legends like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. To this day, he is the winningest NBA coach ever with 1,422 regular-season wins and five NBA championships. He did get to briefly coach Wembanyama’s debut season before being forced to step down due to the complications of a stroke.
Today, while Popovich is no longer running the show (that’s head coach Mitch Johnson), he still serves the team as a special advisor and President of Basketball Operations. This means Gregg is no longer obligated to travel with the team, but he is still very much involved in what happens in the locker room.
He already showed up earlier in the series, following Game 1’s shocking defeat at home. When the Spurs won the next two matchups, everything looked good for them, but Game 4’s disastrous showing (114-109) warranted another appearance by Pop. Specifically, with the French superstar having (arguably) the worst playoff game of his career with just four points, four rebounds, and one assist on 40.0% shooting, Popovich needed a chat with Victor (7’4″) to help him overcome the battles to come.
More than anything, the key with Webanyama will be patience. As he navigates his first-ever NBA postseason, adjusting to the shift in approach, physicality, and intensity is still a work in progress. Clearly, there will be some growing pains as he learns some hard lessons, but between Victor’s natural maturity and the guidance of Pop, the Spurs find themselves in a pretty good spot heading into Game 5, even if the work is far from done.
With averages of 19.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 4.4 blocks per game on 53.4% shooting, Wembanyama is more than keeping the Spurs offensively, but containing Anthony Edwards on the other end has been impossible so far. After scoring 36 points, six assists, two assists, one steal, and zero blockson 59.1% shooting and 60.0% shooting in Game 3, he’s putting the Timberwolves on his back, and it’s pushing the Spurs to their limit. Still, they are lucky that their young superstar avoided a suspension, or this series could have taken a much more drastic turn.
