SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Victor Wembanyama’s U.S. national anthem controversy followed the NBA Finals back to San Antonio.
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.
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Victor 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/ 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.
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But 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 broadcasts from the first four games of the series. Wembanyama was shown during anthem coverage before Games 1 and 2, but not during Games 3 and 4. ESPN also noticeably changed its broadcast presentation of the anthem for Game 4, though it is unclear whether that had anything to do with Wembanyama not being visible.
ABC/ESPN returned to its normal anthem production for Game 5 with Wembanyama on the court and the broadcast showed the Spurs star with his arms crossed.
OutKick/ Digital has continued to pursue the issue throughout the Finals. OutKick/ Digital has asked the Spurs, NBA and ESPN for comment, and none have offered an explanation.
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To OutKick/ Digital’s knowledge, the question to Johnson ahead of Game 5 was the first time a media member brought up the controversy to one of the involved parties.
That made Saturday’s anthem before Game 5 the next potential flashpoint.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama stands with his hands in front of his face during the national anthem before Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. (Daniel Dunn/Imagn Images)
The Spurs entered Saturday night trailing the Knicks 3-1 in the NBA Finals, needing a win to keep their season alive and force the series back to Madison Square Garden. New York, meanwhile, had a chance to win its first NBA championship since 1973.
But before Game 5 tipped off, Victor Wembanyama and the U.S. national anthem were again part of the story.
And after Saturday night, the controversy is not going away.
