The San Antonio Spurs made a shocking decision to rule out their star center Victor Wembanyama for Thursday’s April 2 matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers.
As Wembanyama continues to make his desire to collect seasonal awards clear, the veteran center is in danger of becoming ineligible. He only has a two-game cushion in order to reach the 65-game minimum.
Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson addressed Wembanyama’s absence. He confirmed that a sore ankle kept the center off the court. It was just a minor occurrence.
While awards are important to Wembanyama, the Spurs are making sure they take the proper steps to keep everybody healthy for the playoffs.
Mitch Johnson Makes Statement On Victor Wembanyama’s Absence
“We don’t have any more back-to-backs, so that helps him with more recovery time,” Johnson told reporters on Thursday, according to the San Antonio Express-News. “It’s something we’ll definitely be mindful of so we can get everybody as healthy as they can be down the stretch.”
This season, the Spurs are gearing up for their first playoff run with Wembanyama.
Without the star center, the Spurs took care of business on Thursday night, defeating the LA Clippers 118-99. The Spurs improved to 59-18 on the season.
While San Antonio could catch up to the Oklahoma City Thunder (they trail 2.0 games), they know now they are at least guaranteed the second seed.
A Los Angeles Lakers loss on Thursday gave the Spurs an 11.0-game lead for the second seed.
A Look At Wembanyama’s Season
As long as Wembanyama’s sore ankle doesn’t force enough absences to prevent his 65-game goal, the Spurs’ center should earn some notable accolades this year.
In 61 games, the big man has averaged 24.7 points per game, while shooting 50.9% from the field and 35.0% from three.
Along with his scoring, Wembanyama is dishing out 3.0 assists per game. Defensively, he’s coming down with 11.5 rebounds per game, while blocking 3.1 shots per game (league leader), and snatching 1.0 steals per game.
Following Thursday’s win, the Spurs will be back on the court on Saturday afternoon. They have a meeting with the Denver Nuggets in Colorado. The game tips off at 3 PM ET.