The National Basketball Association issued lifetime arena bans to two individuals Thursday following a court invasion incident during the opening game of the NBA Finals in San Antonio.
One person was taken into custody after rushing onto the playing surface Wednesday evening and seemingly trying to snap a photo with San Antonio’s star player Victor Wembanyama. The disruption happened during the middle portion of the final quarter as the Spurs faced off against the New York Knicks.
League officials also barred a second person permanently for their participation in the Wednesday night disruption, though the NBA declined to reveal details about that individual’s specific actions.
“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 arrested individual appeared to access the playing surface from the sideline across from where the teams sit, beginning from behind the action and sprinting toward San Antonio’s scoring area. Security personnel swiftly removed the person from the court, and no physical contact seemed to occur between the intruder and Wembanyama or any New York team members.
The San Antonio star seemed unaffected by the disruption both during and following the incident.
“I’ve never been in that situation,” Wembanyama said. “I didn’t know how to act.”
Officials halted play for 1 minute and 29 seconds before continuing with a jump ball situation. Security escorted the court invader from the playing area through a tunnel near the baseline.
“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.”
