Spurs’ Rising Star Victor Wembanyama Sidelined with Injury Before Suns Showdown

Victor Wembanyama is currently in the midst of what has been one of the most impressive rookie seasons in NBA history after being drafted number one overall by the San Antonio Spurs this past June. In the increased minutes that he’s received since the NBA All-Star break from coach Gregg Popovich, Wembanyama has responded by stuffing the stat sheet on a seemingly nightly basis, helping the Spurs stay relatively competitive, although they still sit at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture.

Wembanyama had one of his quieter performances of the season on Saturday night, when the Spurs were blown out at home by Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. The Spurs will get another crack at the Suns on Monday evening, once again at home (ironically, all four games of the season series between the two teams were played as part of two-game sets). However, if the latest reports are any indication, there’s a chance that Wembanyama might be out of the lineup for that game due to injury.

“Spurs say Victor Wembanyama (left ankle sprain) is questionable for tomorrow’s game against the Phoenix Suns,” reported Andrew Lopez of ESPN on X, the social media platform formerly referred to as Twitter.

Wembanyama did indeed look like a little bit less than his usual fully healthy self on Saturday, although it’s unclear at this point whether this potentially had to do with the same ankle ailment that could keep him out of the lineup for Monday evening’s rematch.

A historic rookie season for Wemby

Although he was widely billed as perhaps the greatest prospect in NBA Draft history, few if any pundits could have predicted that Victor Wembanyama would make such an immense impact on the game this early in his career. On a nightly basis, Wembanyama uses his size, strength, and unbelievable agility for someone his size to leave opposing defenses at his mercy. On the defensive end, Wembanyama uses his shocking wingspan and athleticism to deter many a shot around the rim for opponents, as well as disrupting and sometimes outright blocking perimeter jumpers as well, using his mobility to stay in front of smaller guards on opposing teams.

Unfortunately for Spurs fans, all of that excellence hasn’t translated to many wins for San Antonio this year, as the Spurs currently sit dead last in the Western Conference and have already been eliminated from postseason contention. However, of course, stacking wins is rarely the goal for a superstar in his rookie year, as generally those players join organizations who are in the midst of a rebuild, as was the case for the Spurs entering last year’s NBA Draft lottery.

One intriguing possibility is that the Spurs end up netting themselves the number one pick once again this year when the lottery standings are announced during the Conference Finals in May. While this year’s draft is not viewed in the same historic light as last year’s, the Spurs will still have a chance to potentially add another franchise building block to insert alongside Wembanyama.