One of the young faces of the NBA just got hit with some devastating news.
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is expected to be on the shelf for the remainder of the regular season after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder, deep vein thrombosis the Spurs announced Thursday.
It is a gigantic blow to the Spurs, who are contending for a play-in spot in the Western Conference. This is the second crippling hit to the Spurs this season after coach Gregg Popovich suffered a stroke in early November and has been unable to coach since.
Wembanyama’s condition, deep vein thrombosis, was diagnosed this week after he returned from the All-Star Weekend the Spurs said. In most cases, it is treated with blood-thinning medication, which typically does not allow a player to take part in a contact sport such as basketball.
Athletes who are involved with contact sports are typically advised to avoid using such medication because of the elevated chance of internal bleeding.
The 7-foot-3 Wembanyama was the league’s rookie of the year in 2023-24 and the frontrunner to be defensive player of the year this season. He has a comparable shot from the perimeter as well, with 403 3-pointers and rejected 176 shots this season. He is one of one. No player in NBA history has ever finished a season with those stats, and Wembanyama accomplished the feat this year by the unofficial halfway point, the All-Star break.
Wembanyama will not be in line or eligible for All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year and other major awards because he did not meet the 65-game minimum. Wembanyama had been a -2000 favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year at ESPN BET prior to the Spurs announcement.
“It’s tough,” Spurs point guard Chris Paul said. “Tough more than anything, I think for all of us, knowing how much he means to our team, but more so knowing how much he means to the game and how much he loves to play.”
Embed from Getty ImagesHe is doing everything for his team, averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists; the only other player to finish a season averaging all that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76, in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I’m in shock,” Miami Heat forward Kevin Love said when told of the news shortly after the Spurs announced Wembanyama’s condition. “Absolute shock.”
Such cases have affected NBA players before, including now-retired Hall of Famer Chris Bosh, whose career ended prematurely after he was diagnosed with blood clots.
Some athletes have made a full recovery and come back, sometimes stronger and better than ever, after dealing with and overcoming blood clots.
Tennis legend Serena Williams was diagnosed with a condition known as pulmonary embolism, a clot on the lung, in 2011, and was the dominant women’s tennis player in the world again when she returned.
“Scariest thing I ever experienced,” Williams said months after returning.
Wembanyama was an All-Star for the first time this season and is widely considered the brightest young star in the game today.
“I’ve seen one quote that he says that nobody better call him past 9 o’clock at night because he’s either reading or he’s asleep. I think that’s super cool. I think that’s super dope,” Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said this past weekend. “That lets you know where his mind frame is at, where he is at intellectually, and I think he’s been great, obviously, for the franchise with the Spurs. But he’s going to be great for our league for so many years to come.”
