Victor Wembanyama’s ‘ethical basketball’ comment makes Thunder-Spurs rivalry better

The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs played the best game of the early 2025-26 season in the semifinals of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Spurs star Victor Wembanyama led his team to a shocking upset victory, and then he added a little fuel to basketball’s next great rivalry after the game.

The Thunder entered at 24-1 while riding a 16-winning streak. Wembanyama had missed the last 12 games with a calf strain, but the Spurs were able to hang tough to stay in the top-half of the Western Conference playoff picture while he was out. Wembanyama came off the bench on a minutes restriction, but absolutely dominated the game by finishing with 22 points in 21 minutes and San Antonio being +21 in his minutes on the floor. Wembanyama said he would be the best player in the NBA when he returned from injury days earlier, and he sure looked like it against OKC.

After the game, Wembanyama took a not-so-subtle shot at the Thunder’s reputation for flopping for foul calls. Listen here:

“Ethical basketball” has become popular internet parlance for players and teams who don’t flop. The Thunder were constantly accused of flopping on their way to the 2025 championship, and it’s going to continue to be a storyline through the rest of this season. Wembanyama knew exactly what he was doing with this comment.

Here’s one play from late in the fourth quarter that might have inspired Wemby’s quote. Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kicked his feet out and drew a foul on Dylan Harper. That’s supposed to be an offensive foul, but not this time.

It’s possible that Wembanyama is the only thing standing between the Oklahoma City Thunder and an NBA dynasty (okay, Nikola Jokic will have something to say about that, too). These two teams are going to have a long and awesome rivalry in the West. Please just everyone stay healthy.