Victor Wembanyama out for 2024-25 NBA regular season with blood clot in shoulder

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama of Le Chesnay, France will miss the rest of the regular season with a blood clot in his right shoulder. The precise ailment is deep vein thrombosis.

In the National Basketball Association All-Star Game on Sunday, Wembanyama led Chuck’s Global Stars with 11 points during a reserve role in a 41-25 loss to Shaq’s OGs from the Chase Centre in San Francisco, California. The French superstar is 7’4″, and was the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

So far this season, Wembanyama leads the NBA in blocks per game (3.8). He is also averaging 24.3 points per game, 11 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game, and 1.1 steals per game. Wembanyama also has a field goal percentage of .476, three point percentage of .352, and a free throw percentage of .836.

Last season, Wembanyama was the NBA Rookie of the Year, was on the NBA All-Rookie Team, and was second to fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Where Wembanyama stands out is in his blocking ability. Wembanyama led the NBA with 254 blocks last season and with 176 blocks this season. Wembanyama’s 176 blocks in 2024-25 are 74 more blocks than Walker Kessler of the Boston Celtics, who is in second place with 102 blocks. He could still lead the NBA in blocks despite missing the Spurs’s final 30 regular season games.

Without Wembanyama, it will be a challenge for the Spurs to make the postseason. They currently have a record of 23 wins and 29 losses and are three and a half games back of the Golden State Warriors for a spot in the play-in tournament.