SAN ANTONIO – The NBA banned two people for life from its arenas on Thursday, after one of them was arrested shortly after running onto the court during Game 1 of the NBA Finals and appearing to take a selfie next to San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama.
A second fan was banned for his involvement in Wednesday night's incident, which occurred midway through the fourth quarter of the game between the Spurs and New York Knicks. The NBA did not disclose specifics of that person's involvement.
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“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," an NBA spokesman said in a news release. "A second individual will also receive a lifetime ban for his role in the incident.”
The fan who ultimately was arrested appeared to enter the court from the sideline opposite the team benches, starting from behind the play and running into San Antonio's offensive end. The person was quickly pulled from the court by two security guards and it did not appear the person made any physical contact with Wembanyama or any New York players.
Wembanyama did not appear bothered by the incident, either as it was happening or afterward.
“I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama said. “I didn’t know how to act.”
Play was stopped for 1 minute and 29 seconds before the game resumed with a jump ball. The fan who entered the play was taken out of the court area through a baseline tunnel.
“I don’t think it was an event at all,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I thought security got him out of there. I think everybody moved on to the next play.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba