One anonymous NBA executive was recently asked if he thought the San Antonio Spurs would end up as a top-four seed in the Western Conference by the end of the season. "I'd bet on the Spurs falling off," a West scout said. "I'd be shocked if Victor plays 82 games. His body just isn't built for that." There are a couple of reasons why this response ultimately misses the mark.
The first of which being the exclusivity of the 82-game club. Playing every game in the season is not something a lot of players do, in fact last season the feat was accomplished by just 11 players. And if you take a look at the list, none of them were truly star players. Getting out there for every single game is far from a requirement in this day and age, even for the best of the best.
There were plenty of game-changing players that deserve to be mentioned among the league's best who didn't touch 80 games last year, or even 75. Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum all played under 75 games last season, and all were selected to the All-NBA first team.
Another problem with this executive's bold statement is the fact that San Antonio's roster is not nearly as starved for talent now as it had previously been. They're much more equipped to win games without their best player than they were last season, or in Victor's rookie year.
Wembanyama is far from "injury prone" despite new development
In fact, the Spurs just got done proving that statement correct with their 123-110 victory against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night. That's the kind of game that the 2023-24 Spurs would have almost certainly lost without Wembanyama.
Overall, what this conversation comes down to is a misunderstanding of just how "injury prone" Victor Wembanyama really is. That perception seems to be following him in the early parts of his career, but it's not totally accurate. His new injury diagnosis on Monday of a strained calf isn't a career-altering development. And while it's not ideal, it doesn't realistically change his career trajectory.
Wemby is not "injury prone" in the conventional sense. The factor that caused him to miss the most time through the first two-plus seasons of his career was the blood clot issue, and we can all agree that was a bit of a freak incident.
And if you've followed him and his training methods since the beginning of his time in the NBA, you would know that Victor does extensive work to keep his body in top shape and avoid injuries. All indicators are that he should be in fine shape for the extended future, even if he's going to miss the next couple of weeks.