NBA Finals: Wembanyama After Spurs Collapse: "Either We Give Up or We Come Out Stronger"

Victor Wembanyama appeared visibly shaken after the San Antonio Spurs' loss to the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. After squandering a huge lead and falling 107-106, the French star pointed to poor execution, stalled ball movement, and lack of hunger in the second half. With the series at 3-1 for the Knicks, Wembanyama made clear the locker room has only two paths: collapse or unite stronger than ever.

Q. In the final moments of the game, De'Aaron goes for the layup instead of dribbling the ball to run down the clock. What do you think about that particular possession?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: I fell to the ground. I couldn't really see. I don't know. I just saw the block.

Q. On OG's tip-back, was there a failure to box out the rebound or was it just a great play by him?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: I don't know. I haven't seen it again. I was contesting the first shot. I turned around and saw him up there. That's all I saw. That's all I can tell you.

Q. Can you explain how everything fell apart in the fourth quarter?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: I think it started before that. Right now I can't really explain it. I don't know. I think it's simply execution, some kind of greed. Clearly we weren't the hungriest in the second half.

Q. Obviously this is very painful. What's going through your head right now?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: What's going through my head right now? I think this is going to go one of two ways. One of two ways. One bad and one good.

The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be coming out stronger from this, being more united. I know that's what we're going to do.

Q. Can you talk about the emotions in the locker room afterward? What was going through your head as you left the court?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: I don't know about the emotions, but it was painful, of course. It feels like we worked too hard just to then hand over our leads. It's as simple as that. It just hurts.

Q. You had two quick trips to the bench in the first half. It seemed like by the end of the game you weren't as strong as at the beginning. Did you wear down a bit? What did you think of the substitution patterns?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Substitution patterns? I don't know. It's not really my specialty. But yeah, I guess so.

Q. What was going through your head on those two free throws, when you stepped away from the line after missing them late in the game?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Mine?

Q. Yes.

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: What was going through my head? The same as always. It's just a shot. You can work your mechanics for hours and hours. At the end of the day, it's just a shot, so you have to shoot it the normal way.

Q. You only scored 30 points in the second half after 76 in the first. What do you think changed offensively in the second half?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: We stopped moving the ball. We stopped executing.

Q. As usual, the league will review tomorrow the flagrant foul you committed on Karl-Anthony Towns. Assuming it stands, you'd only have one more flagrant in the rest of the series before a one-game suspension. Is that going to change anything about your physicality, understanding that even an elbow slightly out of place in the wrong spot can leave you out for a game?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Of course, I'm going to be more careful. But it's not going to change much.

Q. You said your team can now go one of two ways after a loss like this. How can you and your teammates choose the right path?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: By holding each other accountable. By communicating. Not pointing fingers. And after that, either we have it or we don't. But we've shown we can overcome these difficulties. Even though we haven't been in this situation before, I'm convinced we're made that way and we're going to get the best out of this. It's going to unite us more.