Did Refs Gift Wemby a Record? Finch Calls Out Ignored Goaltending Violations

The Timberwolves pulled off a Game 1 upset win in San Antonio despite a historic defensive performance from Victor Wembanyama. His 12 blocks set an NBA playoff record, but how many should've been called for a foul or goaltend? Let's break it down.

"He had a lot of blocks. He had a couple of uncalled goaltendings, too. Those are valuable points we'd like to have back," Wolves head coach Chris Finch said after the game.

Almost all Wemby's blocks were goaltends/fouls. pic.twitter.com/kiFxdO82u9
— House of Lowlights (@HouseLowlights) May 5, 2026

1. Clean block

Wembanyama swatted the first shot attempt of the game from Terrence Shannon Jr., and it was a clean block.

2. Goaltend

Wembayama's second "block" of the game. | Photo via: NBC/Peacock

Shannon's second shot of the game, on the other hand, was a goaltend. It happened fast, but Shannon's layup attempt hit the backboard before Wemby blocked it.

"He gonna need to block it every time. I ain't gonna stop going downhill. And I told him that when he said a little something after he blocked my second one. But he gonna have to block it every time. I know he ain't gonna block it every single time," Shannon said.

3. Foul

Wembenyama didn't even appear to get a piece of the ball on his third block. It looked like he got Rudy Gobert on the arm, which should've been called a foul.

Wembanyama's third "block" of the game. | Picture via: NBC/Peacock

4. Probably a good block

Wemby's first block of the second quarter was one of the hardest judgment calls for a referee to make. You could make an argument that Naz Reid's shot was on its way down, but Wemby might've swatted it just before.

5. Goaltend or foul

According to the NBA.com Gamecast, Wemby was awarded one block in this sequence, but he should've had at least one goaltending call, and maybe a foul. Julius Randle's first attempt went off the backboard before getting deflected by Wembanyama. Randle got his own rebound and fought through a lot of contact before getting blocked again.

6. Probably a good block

It looked like there was a lot of contact on a Gobert shot attempt late in the second quarter, but I would lean more towards this one being a clean block rather than a foul. But you could make an argument that he followed through into Gobert's head, which should be called a foul.

7. Clean block

You can't make an argument about Wemby's final block of the first half. He clearly got Reid for the second time.

8. Clean block

When you're 7-foot-4, you're going to block a lot of shots, and Wembanyama had a clean block on McDaniels early in the second half.

9. Clean block

Randle had another physical shot attempt at the rim in the third quarter, but I think Wemby got him for a clean block on this one, despite some marginal contact.

10. Foul

Wembanyama didn't appear to make any contact with the ball on a Bones Hyland shot attempt late in the third quarter; if he did, it was with his arm. There looked to be a lot of contact, which probably should've resulted in a foul.

11. Probably a good block

This one was probably as close as you can get in terms of a goaltending call. It looked like a true bang-bang play, which is nearly impossible to get right live as an official. I would lean more towards clean block, but I could be swayed in the other direction, as Anthony Edwards tried to do with the refs.

12. Clean block

Wembanyama's final block on Shannon was clean, with the alien's right hand swatting the ball just before it would've hit the glass.

Final tally

Clean blocks: 5
Probably a good block: 3
Goaltend: 2
Foul: 2

That's four points for goaltending and up to four more points at the free-throw line. That's a lot of points erased from the scoreboard, and why Finch and the Wolves are justified in their reactions.

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