A fan who crashed the court in San Antonio in a bid to take a selfie with Spurs star Victor Wembanyama during game one of the NBA Finals has been banned for life from all league arenas, an NBA spokesperson said Thursday.<\/p>\n
“The individual who entered the court area during Game 1 of The Finals was arrested and will be banned for life from all NBA arenas,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
“A second individual will also receive a lifetime ban for his role in the incident,” the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n
The incident briefly halted play midway through the fourth quarter of the New York Knicks’ game one triumph at Frost Bank Center.<\/p>\n
The fan ran onto the court holding up a cellphone, stopping in front of a bemused Wembanyama and Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson before security guards pushed him away then hustled him off the court.<\/p>\n
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office told the San Antonio Express-News that that the selfie-seeker was a juvenile, so his name would not be released.<\/p>\n
But he was arrested on charges of intentionally interfering with a lawful gathering and criminal trespass for entering the court area despite having notice that such entry was prohibited.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama admitted after the game he was non-plussed by the whole situation.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama said. “I didn’t know how to act.<\/p>\n
“It really surprised me, almost as much as that time (when) a bat crossed the court,” added the French star, who experienced the bat fly-by during a game at the Frost Bank Center in his rookie season.<\/p>\n
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson downplayed the incident after the game.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think it was an event at all,” Johnson said. “I thought security got him out of there. I think everybody moved on to the next play.”<\/p>\n
US media reported Thursday that the NBA is also looking into a fan’s interaction with Knicks star Jalen Brunson during game one that led Brunson to complain to referee Scott Foster about the fan’s behavior.<\/p>\n
The broadcast of the game showed Brunson in a heated exchange with a fan at courtside in the final minute of the game. The Athletic reported that the league was investigating whether the fan inappropriately taunted the player.<\/p>\n
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