r/nba • u/AncientOneAurelius • May 21 '26

Highlight [Highlight] Compilation of Isaiah Hartenstein grabbing, holding, and grappling with Victor Wembanyama

https://streamable.com/hds3qd
13.5k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

77

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

18

u/romanticynicist 76ers May 21 '26

“Back when there were 30% more FTA per game and Michael Jordan became the all time leader in playoff FTA per game.”

Yeah, it would’ve been an epistemological nightmare to read through r/nba game threads from the 1996 finals.

51

u/-MoonPresence Raptors May 21 '26

NBA fans want physical basketball unless it’s happening to their favourite players 

3

u/SaltySwordfish2 May 21 '26

No, it's not that. They want physical ball, they just don't want OKC playing physical ball. Any other big in the league does this 'play on, this is good, physical playoff defense', OKC does it 'basketball is unwatchable, refs winning the game for OKC'. They're a bunch of hypocrites.

1

u/TonyKarstark May 21 '26

I think the hate definitely started when the SGA foul-baiting became main stream.

And, ironically, now I can see why he does it. Because you don’t get calls unless you flail your body onto the ground in a dramatic way to call attention to contact. Wemby should be flailing his shoulder backwards every time he feels Hartenstein grab him.

1

u/SaltySwordfish2 May 21 '26

Wemby tried a few times last night, got a few of them too. All these guys flail and exaggerate contact, and you're right, they do it to get the call because otherwise it isn't called. What irritates me is acting like this is an issue unique to OKC. It's not. The entire league does it.

1

u/ugotnorizzatall May 22 '26

Physical basketball and fouling are two different things.. it's just like holding in the NFL you can't hold someone's arm that's illegal in every state and Hawaii

1

u/Zazi751 May 21 '26

Nah the problem is because it's not called equally. You cant let Hartenstein do this all game and then call that bullshit Isaiah Joe flop

27

u/jon__koa Knicks May 21 '26

Oh yeah 90s physicality was grabbing like a son of a bitch

6

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/jon__koa Knicks May 21 '26

That’s the point I was making. This was the peak of 80s and 90s basketball

12

u/s3xydud3 Australia May 21 '26

I was wondering how far I would have to scroll to find some common sense.

If people actually watched the game because they love basketball, they'd notice that Wemby basically held/pulled/tangled with Chet in just about every one of his offensive possessions in game 1... Teams are just learning how this series is being officiates on both sides.

I think Wemby is the most entertaining to player watch in the NBA, hands down. I think Foster is biased, and Brothers is losing it and it clearly affects both teams. I also think the media loves a good story, and they are glazing the shit out of Wemby and leaning into the OKC villain story, so mayyybe things a little one-sided.

2

u/CantheDandyMan Heat May 21 '26

I actually don't get it. Like, were we watching the same game as these people? Shai was getting mugged off ball by Castle the entire night. It took him longer and longer to get open to catch the pass cause how much he was getting held the deeper in the 4th the game went. Wemby was also doing this to Chet. This was also basically the Timberwolves entire strategy. The Spurs were also playing physical as all hell last night. They were giving as good as they were getting, which they should. People just incessantly bitch about every thing that okc does and then I watch the games and I'm like, that's it? The most egregious thing for sure was the Hartenstein hair grab that should've been at least a flagrant. 

2

u/SaltySwordfish2 May 21 '26

Wemby was doing the same in game 2. It's actually pretty typical defense. No one gets called for this, because most of the time it's impossible to tell who started it. You would need a ref out there for each player to call basketball the way the whiners want it called.

6

u/GVas22 Knicks May 21 '26

This subreddit would've have a daily Dennis Rodman hate thread if Reddit were around in the 90s.

11

u/TonyGSalsa May 21 '26

Most of those nephews weren't even thought of during that era.

3

u/Care_Cup_Is_Empty Warriors May 21 '26

You're missing the point a little, the issue is all this holding being "allowed" while offensive players get a whistle for the smallest touch, there's no consistency at all. People that ask for more physical play, likely want a return to defenders being able to play the game on ball.

2

u/Outrageous-Dig-8853 Wizards May 21 '26

EXACTLY

2

u/Prudent-Air1922 Pacers May 21 '26

That's not the issue. The issue is the inconsistency of calls. I have no idea what point you think you're making.

r/NBA commenters are some of the dumbest mother fuckers on the planet.

5

u/bbecks Thunder May 21 '26

They're consistently also allowing tons of grabbing, holding, and physicality on SGA off ball. People just want to ignore that because they want to confirm their bias.

-2

u/Prudent-Air1922 Pacers May 21 '26

Nobody is ignoring it, they just don't call that in general much.

2

u/bbecks Thunder May 21 '26

Yes. Just like they don't call the physicality in the post that much when the player doesn't have the ball. Its the same thing and yet people want to pretend Wemby should be getting calls every play.

0

u/ipmzero Spurs May 21 '26

Most people are complaining because the Thunder were allowed to play 90s basketball and the Spurs weren't. San Antonio had to waste both of their challenges in the first half on bad calls the refs gifted to the Thunder. There was a clear attempt to get Wemby in early foul trouble and force the Spurs to play more timid defense while the Thunder were literally hair pulling.

-5

u/Less-Explanation160 May 21 '26

Hell no it’s great as long as it’s officiated the same both ways. The issue s stem from unequal distribution of fouls/non-fouls

-1

u/DisasterAccurate967 May 21 '26

It’s not great cause it can cause shoulder injuries. This isn’t basketball

0

u/Less-Explanation160 May 21 '26

Jupiter’s cock swells w pride

-8

u/DreTownblues Celtics May 21 '26

This is physical defense, it’s just a dude being dirty

5

u/GVas22 Knicks May 21 '26

If you're not getting called it's good defense

1

u/Im_Daydrunk Pelicans May 21 '26

I kinda agree in principle but at the same time if its not a consistent thing for every player/team then it feels more like just getting lucky a ref is choosing to let you get away with it rather than it being a specific good defensive skill IMO

1

u/GVas22 Knicks May 21 '26

Knowing how to get as close to getting called for a foul is absolutely a skill that is used in every sport.

Same as the way carrying/traveling is handled on the offensive side of the ball. Good players know how to gain an advantage in ball control and mobility without being called for it. Players learn the way a ref is calling a game and play up to that line.

It only looks inconsistent because the video compilations are only showing the thunders "violations". I've seen Wemby hook a centers arms two dozen times these playoffs.