Jose Alvarado Speaks Out on Victor Wembanyama's Controversial Finals Snub

The New York Knicks clinched their first NBA championship since 1973, beating the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5, with Finals MVP Jalen Brunson dropping a series-high 45 points to close it out. It capped off what may have been the best five-game Finals series in NBA history, with each game being within five points in the last five minutes of play.

But one moment that everybody is still talking about is what happened after the final buzzer sounded in Game 5.

Instead of walking up to congratulate the Knicks players, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama skipped the postgame handshakes and walked straight into the tunnel. The decision sparked instant backlash, with everybody labeling Wemby as a villain.

It capped off what had already been an intense postseason for Wembanyama and the Spurs, one in which he’d been involved in several physical altercations. He was notably ejected in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals after elbowing Minnesota’s Naz Reid in the neck, and had multiple run-ins with Brunson and Jose Alvarado in the Finals.

Earlier this past week, Alvarado went on “The Breakfast Club” and addressed Wembanyama’s decision to skip the handshakes after his NBA Finals loss.

"I got mixed emotions,” Alvarado said. “I’m a competitor too, but I also stare my enemies down. I look forward to it. I shake their hands. It’s a game; you don’t like the moment, you probably lost the biggest game of your career, but you’re going to have more moments. I feel like the way he did it was a little too crazy for me because I loved how he competed during the game."

"Obviously, people didn’t like how he was being aggressive, but we’re fighting for something. In between the lines, I feel like anything is cool, but outside the lines, shake hands and call it what it is," he added.

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Looking ahead, San Antonio is by no means finished. They’ve got arguably the most terrifying roster in the NBA, with each one of the superstars not even close to hitting their prime.

Wembanyama just became one of only three players 22 or younger this century to lead a Finals team in scoring, joining Kobe Bryant in 2001 and LeBron James in 2007. And he did it alongside Stephon Castle (21 years old) and No. 2 pick Dylan Harper (20), two of the most exciting young players in the NBA.

The Spurs won 62 games this season with that core fully intact, and the front office is already gearing up to potentially make another blockbuster addition this summer.

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The reality is that Wemby is still just 22 years old, and this was the first time he’s experienced a loss this significant on a stage this big.

It was a competitive series, and the way he walked off without shaking hands will all but be forgotten years from now, especially if the Spurs become the next dynasty everyone’s expecting them to be.

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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 3:53 PM.