The interview comes after the Spurs pulled off a huge 115-111 win against the Knicks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The Knicks still lead the series 2-1. And Wemby was a big part of that victory, scoring 32 points. Looking ahead to Game 4, the Spurs face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, June 10.
“I’m looking forward to having fun,” Wembanyama told ABC News’ Rhiannon Ally in an interview that aired on Wednesday on Good Morning America. “I think it’s too easy to forget that, maybe because it’s the best basketball game in the world, but it’s too easy to forget to have fun sometimes.”
It’s no secret that playing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden is no easy feat. The Spurs are playing the Knicks in front of a star-studded crowd of nearly 20,000 people. And, the fans aren’t always the kindest either. Things turned chaotic in New York City after the Knicks fell to the Spurs in Game 3, as viral videos showed NYC fans harassing Spurs fans.
But Wemby told GMA that the fans in the crowd actually fire him up.
“I mean, we’re as fired up as it gets right now … I would say I agree with you,” he told Ally. “We were really locked in, really focused.”
Yes, it’s important to be focused. But Wemby said he also takes time to disconnect, which is why he was seen drawing at Gramercy Park in New York City. He told Ally, “It’s hard, but it’s very important to disconnect, and it’s so easy to forget to do that, especially in the playoffs.”
After Game 3, Wemby said his grandmother was one of the first people he would call. He revealed she said, “Sometimes we are so elegant on the court, we make it look easy.” His response to her, while chuckling to Ally, was, “I told her, ‘It’s not easy.'”
Wembanyama avoided further discipline from the NBA after his controversial shove on Jalen Brunson during Game 3 of the NBA Finals. League officials reportedly reviewed the first-quarter play — in which Wembanyama pushed Brunson to the floor while fighting through a screen, but declined to upgrade it to a flagrant foul, according to ESPN.
The decision is significant because the San Antonio Spurs star already has two postseason flagrant points and would have moved closer to an automatic suspension had the play been upgraded, ESPN reports.
When is Game 4 between the Knicks vs. Spurs?
The San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks will face off in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, June 10, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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