The San Antonio Spurs received brutal injury news on their superstar Victor Wembanyama on Thursday, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the All-Star will miss the remainder of the season with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama out for the season
Charania added that the injury is a form of a blood clot in his shoulder, and the Spurs believe it is an isolated condition. Wembanyama took part in the NBA All-Star Game this past Sunday and scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in two games.
This loss drastically affects the Spurs and their playoff hopes, as Wembanyama was having an outstanding sophomore season and was quickly becoming one of the faces of the league. He averaged 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game for San Antonio this season.
The Spurs will need to make a playoff push without their superstar
The Spurs decided to add at the trade deadline and make a push for the playoffs by acquiring star guard De’Aaron Fox from the Sacramento Kings. San Antonio is currently out of playoff position as the 12th seed in the Western Conference with a 23-29 record, but they are 3.5 games back of the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in spot as the 10th seed.
Without Wembanyama, they will have to rely much more on Fox to carry the scoring load. Rookie guard Stephon Castle will also likely take on a much larger role as the Spurs try to regroup and rally behind their backcourt to make a playoff push.
San Antonio will now prepare to go the rest of the way without their superstar. They have their first game out of the All-Star break Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns at home.