Unfortunate news has struck the San Antonio Spurs as their star player, Victor Wembanyama, has been sidelined indefinitely due to a left calf strain. He suffered the injury against the Golden State Warriors on November 14 and sat out their game on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings.
As of now, the plan is to re-evaluate Wembanyama’s status in two or three weeks, depending on his progress. ESPN’s Michael C. Wright also reported that Wembanyama feels fine, and it is the Spurs franchise who are taking a cautious approach with their future superstar.
The NBA fans saw this update on social media as ESPN’s NBA Insider Shams Charania broke the news and expressed their opinions on seeing the French starlet sidelined indefinitely.
“Spurs have to manage him carefully. No need to rush a unicorn back from a calf strain.”
“Dunked on Draymond so hard he strained his calf.”
“Injuries like this remind you how valuable he is. The whole system shifts when he’s missing.”
“Mfs saying injury prone like this isn’t his first actual injury other than a freak blood clot.”
“Wemby’s greatest opposition will always be himself. As a Yao Ming fan, I saw his injuries stop him just as he was truly figuring the league out.”
“Yao Ming’s body couldn’t hold up, and he was only 7’5. Wemby is a legit 7’6.”
Several such reactions flooded the internet as fans started debating whether Wembanyama is really injury-prone. The only significant time missed for Wembanyama before this was a blood clot issue that ended his 2024-25 season early.
The Spurs had a stellar 9-4 start to the season, led by their wonderkid from France, who already found himself in the early-season MVP discussions. Wembanyama so far averaged 26.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.6 blocks per game this season, while shooting 50.2% from the field.
NBA history has taught us that unusually big athletes like Yao Ming or Gheorghe Muresan have faced considerable setbacks in their careers due to injuries. No matter how hard Wembanyama works to avoid injury, at his size and length, even a step in the wrong place can cause him an injury due to his massive stature.
Therefore, it is natural for the Spurs to take the cautious approach with their young star, instead of putting too much pressure on him this early in the season.
Wembanyama’s injury was not the only setback for the Spurs, as per their latest injury report. Even the reigning Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle, has been sidelined due to a hip injury.
He played only the first half against the Kings on Sunday and will miss their next game against the Grizzlies on Tuesday (November 18). Castle was their second leading scorer behind Wembanyama and averaged 17.3 points, 7.5 assists, and 5.8 rebounds, while shooting 49.2% from the floor. Even Jordan McLaughlin will not be available against the Grizzlies.
Therefore, multiple injury setbacks have majorly dented the Spurs’ stellar start to the season, and their star’s extended absence could see them drop a few places in the conference standings.
