San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1).
San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1).
Key Points
X-rays were clean, but he will miss his 13th game, affecting award eligibility.
Victor Wembanyama was unable to finish the San Antonio Spurs’ 134-132 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. This is after the All-Star big man was forced to exit the game early in the fourth quarter due to a knee injury.
The Frenchman went to the locker room to get himself checked. When he re-emerged after a few minutes, he was in sandals and remained on the bench for the remainder of the contest.
It was later revealed that Wembanyama had hyperextended his left knee during the game. However, the fact that he was able to walk without a pronounced limp was a good indication of his status moving forward.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama
Wembanyama spoke to the press after the game, and the 21-year-old was quick to play down the injury. In fact, he sounded confident about being available for his team’s next game, which is on Friday against the Indiana Pacers.
During his postgame press conference, Wembanyama was also asked about the NBA’s 65-game rule, which requires players to play in at least 65 out of the 82 regular-season games in order to be eligible for the end-of-season awards.
This rule limits players’ absences to just 17 games per season. Wembanyama has already missed 12 so far, and the Spurs have not even reached the halfway mark of the campaign.
The former Rookie of the Year shared his honest opinion on the NBA’s policy.
“I don’t dislike that rule,” Wembanyama told reporter Maxine Aubin of L’Équipe in French. “And yes, of course it’s in my mind, even if it’s not the first thing I think about.
“But I also know the Spurs medical staff will do their job regardless of that. That’s what we expect from them, and they’re very good at staying objective.”
On Thursday, the Spurs announced that the X-ray results on Wembanyama’s knee came back clean. However, the team opted to leave him in San Antonio for Friday’s game in Indiana, which means that he will miss his 13th game of the season.
Wembanyama, who is reportedly likely to be listed as questionable for Saturday’s home game against the Portland Trail Blazers, can miss just four more games the rest of the way in order to be eligible for the end-of-season awards.
View post: Spurs Make Victor Wembanyama Announcement on Saturday
About the author
Paolo Songco is a senior writer on Athlon Sports’ breaking and trending news team, where he focuses primarily on the NBA and WNBA while also contributing NFL coverage. With more than a decade of experience in sports media, he has written over 20,000 articles and interviewed athletes such as former NFL star Rob Gronkowski and Olympic silver medalist Samantha Peszek. A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Management Information Systems, Paolo is one of Athlon’s most prolific and trusted voices in basketball coverage.