San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama will miss the rest of the season due to a blood clot in shoulder, the team announced Thursday.
The deep vein thrombosis is the name of condition that’s a form of blood clot. It was discovered when Wembanyama returned to the team after the All-Star break.
“The medical experts and the people that are smarter than everybody in the room have said and confirm that he’ll be done this year and there is no concern for Victor’s long-term health, personally, or anything related to his basketball activities,” San Antonio interim head coach Mitch Johnson said. “There is no reason to believe he won’t be ready to go starting next season.”
Johnson said that Wembanyama informed the team that “his arm didn’t feel completely normal” earlier this week.
“This started by conversations around Monday,” Johnson added. “I don’t know exactly the time. It was our medical staff. They looked into it, and that’s how we got here.”
In 46 games this season, Wembanyama averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.8 blocked shots, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He made 47.6 percent of his field-goal attempts, 35.2 percent of his 3-pointers and 83.6 percent of his free throws.
Without Wembanyama on Thursday night, San Antonio improved to 24-29 straight up and 25-28 against the spread with a 120-109 win over Phoenix as a 2.5-point home underdog. The 229 combined points dropped ‘under’ the 238-point total.
De’Aaron Fox led the way with 26 points, nine rebounds, two steals, two blocked shots and seven assists compared to only two turnovers. Six other Spurs were in double figures, including Julian Champagnie (15), Keldon Johnson (15), Chris Paul (13), Devin Vassell (13), Jeremy Sochan (12) and Stephon Castle (10). Castle added 10 rebounds and three steals, while Paul dished out 10 assists.
The 21-year-old Wembanyama, the #1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, won Rookie of the Year honors last season when he averaged 21.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.6 blocked shots and 1.2 steals per game. He hit 46.5 percent of his FGAs, 32.5 percent of his treys and 79.6 percent of his free throws.
San Antonio is currently 12th in the Western Conference, three games back of Golden St. and Sacramento, who are tied for the last two spots in the NBA play-in tournament.