Spurs Superstar Victor Wembanyama Out for the Season

Victor Wembanyama won’t suit up again this season (Photo via X)

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that Victor Wembanyama will miss the rest of the 2024-25 NBA campaign. He has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, which was located in his right shoulder. 

The medical issue, which is a type of blot clot, usually requires blood-thinning medication. Due to the medication, contact sports are off limits.

Wembanyama reportedly didn’t feel 100% following the All-Star break and that caused the team’s doctors to put him through a variety of tests to figure out what was wrong. In recent weeks, Wembanyama looked fatigued on the court and was reportedly dealing with an illness.

While blood clots have ended careers in the NBA — most notably Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat — the good news is that the Spurs don’t consider Wembanyama’s issue to be especially serious to his long-term health. In fact, the organization says they expect him to be ready for the start of next season and do not believe it’s something that should return.

In 46 games, the French superstar finishes with averages of 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals. He shot 47.6% from the field, 35.2% from three-point range and 83.6% from the free throw line. After a success rookie season, he took another big step forward in his sophomore campaign.

Due to the fact that Wembanyama only played 46 games, he will be ineligible for any awards — most notably the Defensive Player of the Year award. San Antonio’s center was the heavy favorite to take home that award this season.

With Wembanyama out, the Spurs will obviously look a lot different. De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell will have to take up the scoring slack. Stephon Castle, the current favorite for the Rookie of the Year award, will be asked to do even more.

The Spurs will be extremely shallow at center for the time being. The Spurs traded Zach Collins to the Chicago Bulls at the deadline in the deal that brought Fox to South Texas. Additionally, Charles Bassey is sidelined with a sprained MCL. 

Who will fill in for Wembanyama at center for the Spurs? Expect Jeremy Sochan to get minutes at center. Bismack Biyombo, who is currently on a 10-day contract with the Spurs, could be a candidate to play a lot of minutes in the middle for San Antonio. Sandro Mamukelashvili will also see more playing time.

Going forward, the focus for the franchise will obviously be making sure Wembanyama is able to return to full health. Wembanyama and the Spurs will do everything they can to make sure this blood clot issue is a one time issue.