Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson may never receive the ball he dropped a career-high 61 points with in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs last week.
After Victor Wembanyama tossed Brunson’s 61-point ball into the stands following San Antonio’s 130-126 overtime victory over New York, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that a ball boy working the Knicks bench went to retrieve the ball from the fan who caught it.
However, Windhorst followed up that report on his Hoop Collective podcast saying that he spoke with the Spurs and no one went to retrieve the ball, which presumably went home with the fan who caught it.
Windhorst said (23:20 mark):
“I have been informed by the Spurs that no ball boy fetched the ball on Friday night. … However, the Knicks said to me that they did retrieve the ball. I have a direct Spurs’ ball boy source who surveyed all of the Spurs ball boys to verify the information and I stand corrected, nobody retrieved the ball. The ball, I assume, left the arena with that fan and the ball that the Knicks got is maybe the backup ball. I don’t know.”
The NBA fined Wembanyama $25,000 for throwing the ball into the stands.
While speaking with reporters after the win about tossing the ball into the stands, Wembanyama said he was just celebrating San Antonio’s victory and meant no ill will toward Brunson.
“I know players have gotten fined for throwing the ball in the stands before, but they did it with bad intent. I was just doing it to make someone’s day,” Wembanyama said.
And while Brunson scored 61 points in that game, Wembanyama also put together his best performance of the season, notching 40 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block.
That said, he was understandably hyped up after the game.
Whether Brunson gets the ball back remains to be seen. Perhaps, the Knicks will try to find that fan and cut a deal for the ball.
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