Three days after the San Antonio Spurs walked off their home floor without shaking the New York Knicks' hands, the argument over Victor Wembanyama's exit refuses to die down — and the NBA's old guard is split right down the middle.
The Knicks closed out a 94-90 Game 5 win at the Frost Bank Center to claim their first championship since 1973, completing a series in which the young Spurs blew double-digit leads in all five games. As New York celebrated, Wembanyama led his teammates straight to the locker room. Center Luke Kornet was the only San Antonio player pictured shaking hands with the victors, while coaches Mitch Johnson and Mike Brown met at midcourt.
Draymond Green, the four-time champion, did not let it slide. On the latest episode of his podcast, the Golden State forward said the snub said more about San Antonio's mindset than its manners.
"Wow, they didn't shake their hands. That's not good," Green said.
He kept going, contrasting the Spurs' exit with how the new champions handled themselves. "What's the first thing Jalen Brunson did? Beeline to Mitch Johnson, shook his hand. Respect. Much respect. I would have loved for the Spurs players to be there for him to shake their hand. They walked off. That was disappointing."
For Green, the handshake line is non-negotiable for a team with title ambitions. "When you go mano a mano, toe to toe, blow for blow with a team and they get the better of you, those that become champions look them in their eyes and say, 'Respect, congratulations, well deserved.' And then you go to the locker room," he said. "That ain't cool. I don't like that. I don't respect that. I hate it. I hate when people do it. And I hated to see those young Spurs do it, because I actually think they're capable of doing something special."
Green even urged the Spurs to make it right after the fact, suggesting they reach out to Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart to offer congratulations. He was blunt about Wembanyama's place in the pecking order, too: the Frenchman may be rated the best player in the world entering next season, Green argued, but "he was not the best player in that series. Jalen Brunson was, by a long shot." A column for USA Today's For The Win went further, framing the walk-off as a sign the Knicks had gotten inside Wembanyama's head.
Not everyone sees a problem. Robert Horry, who won two of his seven rings in San Antonio, said he understood the reaction completely, pointing to the rawness of the moment.
"They tell us in the locker room to take a minute before you speak, because you don't want to speak out of anger," Horry said. "I'm cool if they don't shake hands, and I'm cool if they do. But me? I ain't shaking your hand. I'm mad. I walked off the court. Now, I didn't lose much, but I'm just saying."
Horry also noted the practice is hardly new, recalling that in the 2000s and earlier, losing teams routinely skipped the line. Richard Jefferson, a 2016 champion with Cleveland, drew the same distinction.
"It is very sportsmanlike to do it, but it's not unsportsmanlike to not do it," Jefferson said.
Four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins landed in the same camp, suggesting Wembanyama was simply giving the winners room. "The Knicks are about to celebrate their moment, so you kind of get out of the way," Cousins said.
The series had already turned chippy — Wembanyama escaped a flagrant for a Game 3 shove on Brunson and was pelted with objects outside the Spurs' hotel during the week. At 22, with the Spurs widely tipped to return to this stage, Wembanyama will get the chance to write the next chapter. Whether he does it with a handshake remains, for now, the league's favorite argument.
