Victor Wembanyama who injured is left ankle against the Suns on Saturday March 23rd, was listed as questionable for their fourth and final matchup with the Suns on Monday March 25th has been unfortunately ruled out. This is of course not what Spurs fans had hope to hear, as he was having a tremendous rookie season. The Spurs will now turn to Zach Collins and Dominick Barlow to help fill in the void.
What the Injury means for the Spurs moving forward
The Spurs who sit at 15-56 for the season and are currently in last place of the Western Conference Standings, was just eliminated recently from playoff contention. As a team that is already eliminated from the playoffs, loosing their best player for at least this game will not hurt as bad as it would for a team that is fighting for a playoff spot.
However, for a Spurs fan you would like to see Wemby get all the NBA minutes and playing time he can to gain the most experience from his rookie season.
With just around ten games left, and with Wemby only needing to play two more games to be eligible for the post season awards, you can expect them to take it slow with his recovery. If he is able to come back before the season ends, expect the Spurs to only play him for two more games and then sit it him for the remainder of the year.
Since the Spurs are already eliminated their is no need to play Wemby and risk him injuring the ankle more, or getting a serious injury that could affect his availability for next year.
Victor Wembanyama historic Rookie Season
Wemby who most think is the front runner for the rookie of the year award and is in conversation for defensive player of the year is having one of the best rookie campaign's by a rookie. He is averaging 20.7 points per game, 10.4 rebounds, 3.5 assist, and with an absurd 3.4 blocks and 1.3 steals.
He has set many rookie records such as becoming the first rookie to have separate triple-doubles involving assist and blocks, and the first player in NBA history to have 75 threes, 150 assists, and 150 blocks in the same season.
These are just two of the many records he has broken already and has set just as a rookie. To go along with that, he has only scored under 10 points in just three of his 63 games he has played, and has scored more than 20 points in 36 of those 63 games.
He is having one of the best rookie seasons every and it is remarkable to watch him night in and night out with some of the things he can do and the highlights he always seems to have.
With the Spurs in prime position for another lottery pick they are in great position to draft players to play alongside Wemby and are going to be a fun and entertaining team to watch for the next decade or so.
They will also be a team in the next 2-5 years when they are a playoff team that a team no one wants to play because of Wemby.