Thomas menilai bahwa para pemain lawan sering kali menarik, memegang, dan menjatuhkan Wembanyama tanpa mendapatkan hukuman yang setimpal.

"I mean, people are grabbing and holding him...

they're lucky he hasn't turned around and popped one of them in the face real quick," ujar Isiah Thomas.

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Mantan garda Detroit Pistons tersebut kemudian membandingkan situasi Wembanyama dengan perlakuan fisik ekstrem yang pernah dialami oleh Shaquille O'Neal pada masa jayanya.

"I mean, Shaq took more abuse in our league than any NBA player probably that's ever played," kata Isiah Thomas.

Menurut Thomas, liga bahkan sampai melegalkan istilah taktik khusus untuk menghentikan O'Neal melalui kontak fisik yang sangat keras.

"You know, the term hack-a-Shaq, right? That means you get to hit him, foul him, and they labeled it.

Now, as a person, it ain't never okay to hit me and foul me hard. I'm not taking that s—, right?

Shaq's demeanor was okay; he took it. Now, with Wemby, we're allowing people to grab him, hold him, knock him down," ujar Isiah Thomas.

Thomas tetap memuji ketahanan mental sang bintang muda dalam menghadapi tekanan fisik yang intens di babak final, termasuk saat terlibat insiden dengan Brunson.

"You know, he mushed Jalen, you know, Brunson in the face," kata Isiah Thomas.

Ia menganggap dorongan tangan Wembanyama ke wajah Brunson masih dalam batas wajar bagi para pemain berpostur besar di NBA.

"Yeah, he did.

But, you know, lucky for us little guys, the big guys, you know, they'll just mush us in the face.

They won't hit us in the face.

So, you know, I give Wimby a lot of credit for his temperament right now," ujar Isiah Thomas.

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Data statistik pertandingan dari Roland Beech menunjukkan dampak instan pasca-insiden sikutan di laga keempat, di mana Spurs gagal mencetak satu poin pun di area perimeter dalam sepanjang sisa kuarter ketiga.