The San Antonio Spurs picked up their 62nd win of the season on Friday night with a 139-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks. They were led by an incredible performance from franchise cornerstone Victor Wembanyama, who had 40 points (14-23 FG) and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
This was Wembanyama’s 65th game of the season, as the French center decided to play through a rib injury to make sure he reached the 65-game threshold for the first time in his NBA career. Playing in this game makes him eligible for end-of-season awards such as MVP, DPOY, and the All-NBA teams.
Wembanyama spoke to reporters after his incredible performance in 26 minutes, playing through a rib injury, sharing an update on his health, and addressing whether he’ll play in San Antonio’s final game of the season against the Denver Nuggets.
“I try to protect it as much as possible while being respectful of the game, but it was ok. It didn’t bother me that much. Just a few times with specific movements, specific hits, yeah it was painful… If it was feeling really bad, we would’ve capped it at 20 minutes.”
“I don’t think it’s safe to assume that, no. We don’t know what’s going to happen around the league, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.”
Wembanyama has averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 blocks this season. Reaching 65 games means he’ll likely secure the first All-NBA First Team selection and first Defensive Player of the Year win of his career.
Wembanyama’s status for Sunday night’s game against the Nuggets is going to be closely monitored. A win for the Spurs might help them pick their Playoff matchups more strategically, as a win for the Los Angeles Lakers over the Utah Jazz would drop the Nuggets to the No. 4 seed and move the Lakers to No. 3.
If the Nuggets fall to the No. 4 seed, the Spurs postpone any potential matchup against them until the Conference Finals, provided both teams advance that far. The Spurs likely would prefer facing the winner of the Lakers vs. Timberwolves series in the second round over the winner of Nuggets vs. Rockets, so they have something to play for on Sunday.
It seems like the cautious Spurs will not risk Wembanyama’s health in such a specific situation. The Nuggets benched most of their players in their last game against the OKC Thunder as well, so they could repeat this against the Spurs on Sunday. Nikola Jokic will likely play as he still needs to reach 65 games for his awards eligibility, so this will be a challenging matchup.
The Spurs have to prioritize Wembanyama’s health for the Playoffs. If they believe in their strength as one of the two best teams in the West, it shouldn’t matter to them if they face anyone except the OKC Thunder in the second round.
They can still push to win a game against the Nuggets with Victor, having a 12-5 record without the French center this season. But based on Wembanyama’s update on his health, it seems like the Spurs’ best path forward would be to rest him on Sunday so that there is no injury risk with him heading into the first round.
