On Thursday, fans of the San Antonio Spurs received some unfortunate news regarding the face of the franchise in big man Victor Wembanyama.
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, Wembanyama has a type of blood clot in his right shoulder called deep vein thrombosis, and the expectation is that he will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign.
Victor Wembanyama has a form of a blood clot in the right shoulder. He is out for the season. The Spurs believe this is an isolated condition. https://t.co/AEP8Way0Zb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2025
But on the bright side, the Spurs are reportedly optimistic that the star will make a full recovery by the time the 2025-26 campaign starts up.
The Spurs are optimistic that Victor Wembanyama will make a full recovery by the beginning of next season, a team source told ESPN.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 20, 2025
It sounds like low energy from Wembanyama had been causing concern.
“Per source, to @TheAthletic, Victor Wembanyama had experienced low energy lately that was causing concern,” Sam Amick wrote on X.
“When he still had low energy at All-Star weekend, and through his two-day vacation after it, the tests began that ultimately uncovered the deep vein thrombosis. The Spurs are very confident he’ll be healthy and ready at the start of next season.”
The Spurs’ playoff hopes have seemingly taken a major hit in light of the injury update on Wembanyama. San Antonio hasn’t qualified for the playoffs since the year 2019, and it seems unlikely that its drought will be broken this year. The Spurs are currently outside of play-in and playoff territory in the West.
Wembanyama followed up an incredibly impressive rookie campaign by cementing himself as one of the best big men in the NBA as a sophomore.
Before his season got cut short due to the blood clot issue, he averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.8 blocks per game. He earned the first All-Star nod of his pro career as well and played in the tournament at Chase Center during All-Star Weekend.
It’s unfortunate that Wembanyama and Spurs star guard De’Aaron Fox didn’t have much time to build chemistry with one another before Thursday’s news. Fox was traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Spurs not long before the Feb. 6 trade deadline and has logged just five games played in a San Antonio uniform.
The Spurs will play their first game after the All-Star break when they face off against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Like the Spurs, the Suns are on the outside looking in regarding the Western Conference postseason picture, as they hold the No. 11 seed in the conference at 26-28. But it’s worth noting that they are more within striking distance of at least a play-in spot, as they’re 1.5 games back of the No. 10 seed.
Hopefully, Wembanyama will make a full recovery and continue his thrilling NBA career following his unfortunate diagnosis. The Spurs will have to get by without him in the meantime.
