Victor Wembanyama's spectacular second NBA season has apparently come to an abrupt end. (More Sports News)
﷽The San Antonio Spurs announced Thursday they will shut down their All-Star forward for the remainder of the regular season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder.
𒊎In a team statement, the Spurs said a deep vein thrombosis was discovered in Wembanyama's shoulder after the 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year returned to San Antonio after taking part in last weekend's All-Star Game festivities.
⛄The Spurs are currently on the outside of the play-off picture, as they sit in 12th place in the Western Conference and trail the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors by 3 1/2 games for the final two spots of the play-in tournament.
♔Wembanyama will now be ineligible for any post-season awards, as he will not meet the league's minimum of 65 games played for consideration. The 7-foot-4 French phenom was a heavy betting favourite to be named Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NBA with 176 blocked shots and ranking fifth overall in defensive rebounds per game (9.2).
🃏The 21-year-old concludes his second season with averages of 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.8 blocks in 46 games, making him the first player in 25 years to average at least 24 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while playing 40 or more games in a season.
ꩵHall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal was the last player to accomplish that feat when he did so with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1999-2000. Only five others (Bob McAdoo, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robertson, Patrick Ewing) have reached those numbers in a season, and all are in the Hall of Fame as well.
🤡Wembanyama just finished participating in his first All-Star Game during this past weekend's event in San Francisco. He compiled 17 points in two mini-games while competing on Charles Barkley's Global Stars team that reached the final of the four-team tournament.
🥂The No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 draft, Wembanyama lived up to his billing as a generational talent with a superb debut campaign for the Spurs that culminated in a unanimous selection as the NBA's Rookie of the Year. The Paris-area native led all first-year players in points per game (21.4), rebounds per game (10.6) and blocks per game (3.6) and became the second rookie to lead the league in blocks, joining Manute Bol in 1985-86.
