‘Can end careers’: NBA superstar to miss rest of season as details of ‘scary’ diagnosis revealed
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is expected to miss the rest of the NBA season after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, the team said Thursday.
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The Spurs said in a statement that the 21-year-old French player was diagnosed with the blood clot after he returned to San Antonio following last Sunday’s All-Star game in San Francisco.
“Wembanyama is expected to miss the remainder of the 2024-25 regular season,” the Spurs said.
“The team will provide updates as appropriate.”
NBA insiders in the US weighed in after the diagnosis, saying that Wembanyama had been suffering from low energy, but his team was confident in him making a full recovery.
"This is a medical condition that has ended careers … but there are cases in recent NBA history of players having an isolated incident just like this who came back just fine."
NBA writer @SamQuinnCBS after the Spurs announced Victor Wembanyama is expected to miss the season… pic.twitter.com/Jvdxtl4pWz
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) February 20, 2025
Man…All the best to Victor Wembanyama and thankful this was caught early enough to be taken care of. Scary situation.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 20, 2025
Man…All the best to Victor Wembanyama and thankful this was caught early enough to be taken care of. Scary situation.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 20, 2025
As someone who has dealt with deep vein thrombosis in the shoulder, Victor Wembanyama is very fortunate that this was discovered before becoming a life-threatening pulmonary embolism.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) February 20, 2025
Per source, to @TheAthletic, Victor Wembanyama had experienced low energy lately that was causing concern.
When he still had low energy at All-Star weekend, and through his two-day vacation after it, the tests began that ultimately uncovered the deep vein thrombosis. The Spurs…
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 20, 2025
Victor Wembanyama has a form of a blood clot in the right shoulder. He is out for the season. The Spurs believe this is an isolated condition. https://t.co/AEP8Way0Zb
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2025
The announcement brings a premature end to another outstanding campaign by Wembanyama, who earned Rookie of the Year honors last season after being taken first overall in the NBA draft.
Wembanyama was averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a league-best 3.8 blocks in 46 games for the Spurs this season.
The 2.21m star became an All-Star for the first time when he was chosen as a reserve.
His season also included a trip home to France, where the Spurs split two games in Paris with the Indiana Pacers.
Wembanyama was playing in the French league a year and a half ago before his selection as the number one pick in the 2023 NBA draft set him on the path to global stardom.
He helped France capture the silver medal at last year’s Paris Olympics, where they fell to the United States in the final.
The blow also means Wembanyama is inellgible for end of season awards as he will not reach the 65-game cut off.
David Dennis Jr: "This should be the death knell to the 65-game limit to get an award. Victor Wembanyama won't be DPOY when he was clearly the best defensive player in the NBA. He's punished for having blood clots." pic.twitter.com/mId56J2hO9
— Josh Paredes (@Josh810) February 20, 2025
