Victor Wembanyama cleared to return to Spurs after blood clot: Reports

New York Times

a day ago

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama said he is 'officially cleared to return' from the deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder that cut his 2024-25 season short, he told French newspaper L'Équipe.
Wembanyama, 21, said San Antonio's medical staff told him Friday he had the green light to return to basketball, which would mark just over five months since the team discovered the blood clot upon his return from All-Star weekend. The finding stunted his sophomore season at 46 games and curtailed a historically rare season; he was the first player to record averages of 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.8 blocks and 3.1 3-pointers made per game before the injury.
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Team sources were unwilling to confirm, but news of his return was also reported by ESPN.
San Antonio went 21-25 in the games Wembanyama played and 13-23 in its games without him last season. The team landed the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft lottery and selected guard Dylan Harper, who is expected to join reigning rookies of the year Stephon Castle and Wembanyama to give the Spurs a young trio that could compete in the playoffs.
Wembanyama has had a full offseason despite the injury, including a trip to the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, China, to train with monks for two weeks. The Spurs have also had a transformative offseason, as longtime legendary coach Gregg Popovich stepped down in May to move to a front-office role after he suffered a stroke in November that forced him away from the sidelines.
Wembanyama and multiple other NBA stars have dealt with blood clots in recent seasons. Then-Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard was temporarily shut down in March after doctors found a DVT in his calf, the Detroit Pistons' Ausar Thompson missed time from March to November 2024 with a blood clot, and Miami Heat star Chris Bosh was forced to retire in 2016 due to the recurrence of a clot, which constituted a career-ending illness.
The Spurs center told L'Equipe he is 'right on schedule' with the recovery plan and that the DVT is 'officially behind me.' He said he has not played five-on-five action for five months and has to ramp up his training to be game-ready.
The 21-year-old will not suit up for the French national team when EuroBasket 2025 starts on Aug. 27, joining Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier as roster exclusions due to health and recovery reasons. Team France will be highlighted by the top two picks from last year's draft, Atlanta Hawks wing Zaccharie Risacher and Washington Wizards big Alex Sarr, as well as Wizards wing Bilal Coulibaly and New York Knicks big Guerschon Yabusele. Wembanayama will likely still be in the ramp-up phase of his recovery program when the tournament begins, so his priority will be preparing for the grind of a full NBA season as an emerging superstar.
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His minutes per game increased from 29.7 as a rookie to 33.2 as a sophomore last season, with another increase possibly on the way. He will likely take on even more offensive responsibility as his skill set improves, meaning his offseason training program will be crucial to setting the stage for a sustainably healthy and productive season. The Spurs' offense will further evolve this year now that former All-Star point guard De'Aaron Fox will take the reins at the point from Chris Paul, who often had the Spurs playing a slower pace in the half-court.
Wembanayama plans to be ready for a full return by the start of training camp in late September, his first alongside Fox. The pair only played five games together after the Spurs acquired Fox at the trade deadline. San Antonio finished 34-48 after Wembanyama was ruled out, but showed early signs of promise with a 17-16 run heading into the new year.
With Castle entering his second season, Harper coming to town and former Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet providing center depth to help manage Wembanyama's load throughout the season, San Antonio has a chance to take another big step forward this season.