Spurs star Wembanyama sinks troubled Chicago Bulls hours after Ivey is waived for anti-gay remarks
Victor Wembanyama was the star of the show as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Chicago Bulls
Victor Wembanyama added to a difficult 24 hours for the Chicago Bulls with the third fastest double-double in almost 20 years as the San Antonio Spurs cruised to their ninth straight win.
Wembanyama reached 10 points and 10 rebounds in his first eight minutes and 31 seconds on the court as the Spurs won 129-114. Only Boban Marjanovic (8:13) in 2017 and Jonas Valanciunas (8:08) in 2025 managed to do it quicker in the play-by-play era.
The French superstar finished with 41 points and 16 rebounds to power the Spurs. He also attempted 27 shots, a season high.
“Just figuring out some stuff,” he said. “Felt like I needed my offense to get back to a certain level, but that shouldn’t be at the cost of defense either.”
The Bulls had no answer to Wembanyama or Stephon Castle, who scored 21 points and added 10 assists and eight rebounds.
“We’ve had the chance to spend lots of minutes on the court together, and he understands me very well,” Wembanyama. “That’s not just randomly, we’re just in sync. We get along together because he, as the ball handler, is actively trying to get the best shot for the team, and me, as the roller, I’m trying to make sure every time he throws it up high enough.”
Tre Jones top-scored for Chicago with 23 points but it was another underwhelming display from the Bulls who have now lost four straight.
Bulls waive injured Ivey
The game came shortly after the team decided to waive Jaden Ivey for another lengthy social media post that included anti-gay remarks.
Ivey’s season-ending injury has seen him devote more time to social media but the results have not gone down well.
His Monday morning post included the comments: “The world proclaims LGBTQ, right? They proclaim Pride Month and the NBA does, too. They show it to the world. They say, ‘Come join us for Pride Month to celebrate unrighteousness.’ They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it on the streets. Unrighteousness.”
The Bulls decided to part ways, citing ‘conduct detrimental to the team’.
Ivey responded: “[The Bulls] said my conduct is detrimental to the team. Why didn’t they just say, ‘We don’t agree with his stance on LGBTQ’? Why didn’t they say that? … How is it conduct detrimental to the team? What did I do to the team? What did I do to the players?”
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said: “There’s a certain level of expectations and standards that are here. Everybody comes with their own personal experiences, right? But we have to all be professional, there has to be a high level of respect for one another, and we’ve got to help each other and be accountable to those standards.”
