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Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs drives on Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Frost Bank Center on January 17, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas.

The Minnesota Timberwolves could not do anything to slow down Victor Wembanyama in the team’s Game 5 loss against the San Antonio Spurs. Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards didn’t shy away from admitting that his team could not do anything to defend Wembanyama last night. Wemby finished with an incredible 27 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 assists in 33 minutes of action.

However, the team high +24 with Wembanyama on the court told the real story. Edwards had the following insight after the loss when asked about Minnesota’s answers for Wemby:

“I mean, tonight, some of the stuff Wemby was doing, you don’t really have an answer for it. Just kinda hoped he misses, he came out hot and made shots… Eventually, they created another lead.”

Many NBA players refuse to give the opponent this much credit or admit that their team can’t defend said player at their best. Edwards didn’t feel like he could say anything about having an answer for Wemby after such a one-sided performance. Minnesota tried their best to limit the other players, but Wembanyama completely took over any time he was on the court.

Can Minnesota Slow Down Victor Wembanyama?

Game 1 featured a shocking scenario of Minnesota limiting Wembanyama to 11 points in an upset victory in San Antonio. However, nothing has slowed down Wemby since that game, except for the ejection for his flagrant foul against Naz Reid. Both Rudy Gobert and Reid give the Timberwolves two big bodies to throw at Wembanyama.

Julius Randle has arguably been the best one on one defender for Wemby in every Minnesota game this season. In theory, the Timberwolves are among the teams best suited to play against the Spurs and try to slow down Wembanyama. Unfortunately, that theory often loses to the reality of Wemby getting hot offensively.

The Timberwolves must find a way to survive elimination in Game 6 by using the home crowd advantage. Minnesota has pulled off a 3-2 series comeback against the Denver Nuggets a few years ago for their first massive playoff series victory of the Edwards era. The team must channel that energy by starting with a strong outing in Game 6.

Rudy Gobert Getting Criticized Yet Again

Multiple postseason runs of Gobert for Minnesota and the Utah Jazz have seen him criticized for hurting his team. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner has been played off the court due to offenses run by James Harden and Luka Doncic in the past.

Gobert had his best playoff series in years against the Denver Nuggets this year to quiet some of those critics. However, Reggie Miller called out Gobert at the end of the game for not being able to contribute offensively as a huge flaw last night.

Gobert also lets Randle or Reid defend Wembanyama for most of the game to create more concerns. Minnesota’s best defender is not trying to slow down Wemby and offers nothing offensively quite often. Gobert may somehow end the playoffs blamed for failure again after having such a winning impact last round.