San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama's season is over after he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder, a condition that will sideline one of the league's brightest stars and is the second massive health-related hit for the Spurs in a matter of months.
Wembanyama is beginning treatment immediately and the Spurs are working under the expectation that the 7-foot-3 center from France will fully recover, a person with knowledge of the situation said Thursday, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because those details were not released publicly.
It may even be possible for Wembanyama — the NBA's leading shot-blocker this season and a first-time All-Star — to play this summer for France in the European championships if he chooses, the person said.
“You can't replace Vic,” Spurs guard Chris Paul said. “I can't stand on a guy's shoulders and block every shot that comes to the rim. Aside from his basketball ability, his charisma and what he brings into the locker room, I think, is what we'll miss the most.”
The diagnosis
Wembanyama's condition — deep vein thrombosis — was diagnosed this week after he returned from the All-Star Game, the Spurs said Thursday. It is almost always treated with blood-thinning medication, and more evaluation will be needed.
“I’m not smart enough or inclined enough with the medical expertise, but this is what I can say: Victor felt his arm didn’t feel completely normal. That was articulated to our medical staff,” acting Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said Thursday night. “They looked into it, and that’s how we got here.”
“The medical experts and the people that are smarter than everybody in the room ... confirm that he’ll be done this year, and that there is no concern for Victor’s long-term health personally, or anything related to his basketball activities,” Johnson added.
Wembanyama's diagnosis comes about 3 1/2 months after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke, with Johnson — one of his assistants — serving as acting coach since. The Spurs have said Popovich's condition is improving, but there is no timetable for his return to the bench.
“Man, it's been extremely tough, to say the least,” Paul said. “This organization, how they put everything into perspective. Obviously, the Pop situation, knowing what he means to the league and Vic, him playing his first All-Star Game ... for us, we know we've got a job to do but just like anybody we worry about our people.”
Wembanyama's numbers were historic this season
Wembanyama was the league's rookie of the year last season and the front-runner to be defensive player of the year this season. He has already attempted 403 3-pointers and blocked 176 shots this season — no player in NBA history has ever finished a season with those numbers, and Wembanyama did it by the All-Star break.
He is averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists; the only other player to finish a season averaging all that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76. The Spurs opened their post-All-Star schedule later Thursday in Austin, Texas, against the Phoenix Suns.
“It’s devastating news, I think, because any time the league loses a player of that magnitude, it’s tough,” Johnson said. "You're losing a main player of the league that the fans and people enjoy watching.”
Miami Heat forward Kevin Love, who learned of Wembanyama's situation as he walked off the practice floor Thursday, said he was in “absolute shock.”
“First of all, you pray for him. You hope for the best, personally and professionally," Love said. “He means so much to the league. He’s an incredible competitor and he has a runway to be the face of the league for the next 20 years. I can’t imagine this league without him in the short term or in the long term. He's that important.”
Such cases have affected NBA players before, including Hall of Famer Chris Bosh — whose career was cut short after he was diagnosed with blood clots while playing with Miami. Brandon Ingram, now with the Toronto Raptors, had his 2018-19 season end early because of deep vein thrombosis when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Detroit's Ausar Thompson had a clot issue that saw him miss the end of the 2023-24 season.
The question for the Spurs' medical team to answer now surrounds why this happened to Wembanyama.
“Any time we have upper extremity or arm blood clots, we always need to ask ourselves why they happened,” said Dr. Geoffrey Barnes, an associate professor of cardiology and vascular medicine at the University of Michigan. “And so, looking for the cause is going to be a really important piece of this. ... It's really important to understand why this happened, because then that’ll dictate what the treatments are and what the long-term consequences may be.”
Some athletes have come back, sometimes better than ever, after dealing with blood clots.
Serena Williams was diagnosed with the problem known as a pulmonary embolism — a clot on the lung — in 2011, and was the dominant women's tennis player in the world again when she returned.
“Scariest thing I ever experienced,” Williams said months after returning.
Wembanyama — the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft — is widely considered the brightest young star in the game. He led France to the silver medal at last year's Paris Olympics.
Paul said he's talked with Wembanyama since the diagnosis, but did not share details.
“It's tough," Paul said. “It's tough more than anything, I think for all of us, knowing how much he means to our team and but more so knowing how much he means to the game and how much he loves to play.”
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AP freelancer Mark Rosner in Austin, Texas contributed to this report.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
