San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson has admitted he's 'glad' star player Victor Wembanyama elbowed a rival in the throat and called out 'disgusting' refereeing.

Wembanyama was whistled for an offensive foul as soon as he struck Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Reid had swarmed the NBA Defensive Player of the Year outside the paint along with teammate Jaden McDaniels after the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama rebounded a missed 3-pointer by the Spurs. 

Seemingly losing his temper, the Frenchman then swung his elbow back round behind him in fury, striking Reid on the side of his neck. 

After a video review of the play, with the fans at Target Center chanting, 'Kick him out! Kick him out!,' the foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 for excessive contact above the neck.

The 22-year-old Wembanyama, who is nicknamed 'The Alien', then headed down the tunnel to huge cheers from the Timberwolves fans in Minnesota. The Timberwolves went on to win the game 114-109, moving level in the series at 2-2.

Speaking after the game, Johnson was furious with the referees and praised his star man for dealing with Reid himself.

'I'm glad he took matters into his own hands. Not in terms of hitting Naz Reid - by all means, being very clear about that,' he said.

'I'm glad Naz Reid is OK, and I didn't want him to elbow him, but he's going to have to protect himself.

'The level of physicality that opponents have been trying to impose on him since his first days in the league, combined with the lack of protection from the referees, is really disappointing.

'And to a certain extent, it's starting to become downright nauseating.'

By his high standards, Wembanyama had been pretty quiet before being kicked out. He had four points and four rebounds to his name to show for 12 minutes of action. 

Wembanyama's Spurs teammate, Dylan Harper, could even been seen watching on in shock after seeing the guard lash out on Reid. It appeared that right away, Harper knew Wembanyama was facing big trouble. 

San Antonio will now be nervously waiting to find out if Wembanyama will be banned from Game 5, too. The NBA is expected to review the incident on Monday.

Stephen A. Smith quickly led the calls for Wembanyama to be allowed to play, posting on X: Damn! Wembanyama’s ejection - unfortunately - was very warranted. Can’t swing your elbow like that. Very intentional. No debate.

'But I’m praying he doesn’t SUSPENDED for Game 5, which is very possible. We shouldn’t want decisions like that deciding a series. But we shall see.' 

The Spurs missed Wembanyama for 18 games in the regular season and went 12-6