San Antonio Spurs rookie forward/center Victor Wembanyama (sprained right ankle) is out for Thursday night’s road game against the Sacramento Kings. This will be his seventh game missed this season.
He started in 56 of the Spurs’ first 62 contests. Wembanyama, 20, rolled his ankle in the second quarter of San Antonio’s 114-101 loss at Houston on Tuesday night.
The 7-foot-4 big man was subbed out less than two minutes later, then returned to start the third quarter and played nearly the entire second half. NBA betting sites show him as the current favorite to win NBA Rookie of the Year.
Victor Wembanyama is OUT for Thursday’s game vs. the Kings with a right ankle sprain, the Spurs have announced.
— SpursNation (@SpursNationYo) March 7, 2024
Of course, San Antonio’s No. 1 pick in last year’s draft is averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, a league-leading 3.4 blocks, and 28.8 minutes per game.
Per ESPN Stats & Information, no player has averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in a full season since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-00. He would become the first rookie to average such numbers.
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is already making his case for the NBA Hall of Fame
Additionally, Wemby is shooting 46.9% from the field, 33.5% from 3-point range, and 81.5% at the foul line. He leads the NBA with 193 blocks and ranks 10th in total rebounds (574) and third in defensive rating (107.3).
At only 20 years and six days old, he became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, in a 130-108 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 10. The Spurs rookie recorded 16 points, 12 rebounds, and a season-high 10 assists in 21:02 played.
According to the Basketball-Reference database, 21:02 is the second-fewest minutes in a triple-double outing in the shot clock era (since 1954-55). Russell Westbrook played 20:17 and logged a triple-double with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2014 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Late one in Sacramento ♠️
🆚 @SacramentoKings
⏰ 9pm CT
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📻 @1200WOAI, @kxtn1350 #PorVida | @HEB | #sponsored pic.twitter.com/bd6lyp6Z5H— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 7, 2024
Furthermore, in San Antonio’s 121-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 8, he amassed 21 points, a season-high 20 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and four blocks in 32 minutes of action.
At 19 years and 338 days old, the Frenchman became the youngest player in NBA history to tally 20 points and 20 rebounds in a single game, passing the mark held by Dwight Howard in 2005 by just four days.
NBA sportsbooks show the Spurs as 11.5-point underdogs at Sacramento without Wembanyama. Moreover, the Kings hold a 76.5% chance of defeating San Antonio, per ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.
