As he did before Game 1, Wembanyama stood with his arms crossed during "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night at Frost Bank Center.VICTOR WEMBANYAMA ANTHEM CONTROVERSY GROWS AS SPURS, NBA AND ESPN STAY SILENT DURING FINALSVictor Wembanyama stands with his arms crossed during the national anthem before Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.(Adam Pantozzi/NBAE)OutKick/Fox News Digital asked Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson before the game whether the team had talked to Wembanyama about the anthem discussion and whether Wembanyama would be on the floor for the anthem before Game 5."Not at all," Johnson said.
"I think there are plenty of players that are not on the floor during the anthem.I don’t know if that’s habit, superstition, bathroom, whatever it may be.
I don’t foresee anything looking into that at all."It was the first public response from the Spurs after Wembanyama’s anthem posture and apparent pregame absences became a Finals subplot.The controversy started before Game 1, when ABC/ESPN cameras showed Wembanyama standing with his arms crossed during "The Star-Spangled Banner." The image quickly spread on social media, where some fans criticized the pose as disrespectful while others defended Wembanyama, who is from France.PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP REACTS TO SPURS STAR VICTOR WEMBANYAMA FOLDING HIS ARMS DURING THE ANTHEMBut the scrutiny didn’t end there.Wembanyama was not seen on the court during ESPN’s anthem coverage before Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden.Most Spurs players appeared to be lined up for the anthem, but Wembanyama was not visible during the portions shown on the broadcast.Notably, Johnson did not deny that Wembanyama elected to stay off the court during those two anthems.Spurs coach Mitch Johnson gave his first public response about the Wembanyama anthem controversy ahead of Knicks Spurs Game 5 on Saturday night.
(Jesse D.Garrabrant/NBAE)OutKick reviewed ESPN’s broadca...