Victor Wembanyama has already produced countless highlight plays during his young NBA career. In Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals, however, he delivered one of the strangest sequences fans have ever seen from a superstar.
And it all happened within 12 seconds. Late in the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ 105-95 loss to the New York Knicks, Wembanyama had what social media quickly labeled an ‘aura drop’ moment.
First, Wembanyama attacked Karl-Anthony Towns off the dribble and attempted a difficult layup at the rim. Instead of finding the basket, the shot slammed directly into the side of the backboard.
The miss was shocking enough. Then things somehow got worse.
Wembanyama recovered his own rebound and kicked the ball back out to reset the offense. The Spurs moved the ball around the perimeter before Julian Champagnie found Wembanyama standing alone in the corner for what appeared to be a clean three-point attempt. Instead, the shot hit the top of the backboard.
I haven’t seen anyone hit the side of the backboard and top of the backboard in the same possession since 2016 Ian Mahinmi https://t.co/NDnSUQzwbe pic.twitter.com/K0r3nbI2kb
— Nick Bateman (@nickbateman33) June 4, 2026
Two of the most unusual misses imaginable from one of the NBA’s biggest stars, all within a span of 12 seconds. The sequence summed up what was otherwise a frustrating night for Wembanyama and the Spurs.
While the 22-year-old still finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and three blocks, he shot just 6-for-21 from the field and 2-for-9 from three-point range. Most of his scoring came from the free throw line, where he converted 12 of his 13 attempts.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, fatigue may have played a major role in Wembanyama’s struggles.
“He might deny it, but I felt Victor Wembanyama was low on energy from the first quarter. I know the game started out frenetic. I know when the stakes are high, you sometimes see players need their second wind. I saw Victor bending over and grabbing his shorts midway through the first quarter, and I didn’t think he was able to maintain a good energy flow for most of the game.”
“Now, he did summon it a little in the fourth, and it was almost enough. I thought I was coming here saying I didn’t think he had enough energy, and he pulled it together in the end because he was almost their hero. But when you can tell, Scott, it’s not the plays that he makes, it’s the plays that he doesn’t make.”
“When he’s not able to close across the lane, when he’s not jumping and contesting shots. And I think Brunson smelled it. Brunson’s never going to say that, but I think Brunson smelled it down the stretch, that he was moving quicker than Victor. And that’s going to be something to monitor.”
“In the last series, I felt it went up and down, so he could just as easily come out Friday and have more of a burst. But this is something that I think is going to be a story in this series. What is Victor’s energy level?”
Windhorst noted that Wembanyama appeared exhausted early in the game, bending over and grabbing his shorts during the opening quarter. He also pointed to several defensive possessions where Wembanyama failed to make the type of explosive rotations and contests that have become routine throughout his career.
Still, the Spurs are not panicking. Rookie guard Dylan Harper dismissed the idea that fatigue was solely responsible for the loss.
“I feel like both teams were fatigued, really. I feel like they kind of just executed a little better. I feel like they executed their plays, and at the end of the game, they kind of just, like I said, executed. But I feel like it was more of a track meet today. I think the energy was high, and I feel like everyone was just getting up and down. So, I think both teams were fatigued.”
Harper also expressed complete confidence in Wembanyama moving forward.
“I think we’re all confident. I feel like that’s kind of who he is. He never backs down from the moment. He always steps up and meets it. But we’re also confident, and we also have a chip on our shoulders. This game, we just lost. You never want to lose, and I feel like going into the next game, we’re going to be even hungrier. We’re just ready to keep improving.”
Wembanyama echoed a similar sentiment after the loss, saying he was ‘not worried in the slightest’ despite the Spurs falling behind 1-0 in the series.
The reality is that even with one of the strangest possessions of his career and one of his least efficient playoff performances, Wembanyama still finished with a 26-point double-double.
That is what makes him so dangerous. The side-of-the-backboard miss and the top-of-the-backboard miss will dominate social media clips. But if history has shown anything, it is that Wembanyama usually responds to bad games with monster performances.
The Knicks won Game 1. But the Spurs superstar already has Game 2 circled.
