Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has recovered from the blood clot in his right shoulder and has been medically cleared to resume basketball activities, he told Maxime Aubin of French outlet L’Équipe (Twitter link).
“I’m officially cleared to return,” Wembanyama said. “It just happened — I got the green light from the Spurs’ medical staff just a few hours ago (last Friday). Phew, I’ll finally be able to play a bit of basketball again!“
After earning Rookie of the Year honors and finishing as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year during his debut in 2023/24, Wembanyama had a superlative second season in ’24/25, making his first All-Star appearance and averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.8 blocks in 33.2 minutes per game.
However, shortly after the All-Star break, the 21-year-old center was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder, cutting his season short. Despite playing just 46 games, Wembanyama still led the NBA in total blocked shots (176) by a wide margin — Brook Lopez was second with 148.
Both Wembanyama and the Spurs organization have expressed optimism that 2023’s No. 1 overall pick would be fully recovered from the blood clot ahead of the 2025/26 season, which has now come to fruition.
The 7’4″ big man seemed doubtful in April about his odds of suiting up for France at this summer’s EuroBasket, which begins in late August. It seems unlikely that today’s update will have changed those plans, though we may have to wait for official confirmation.
Excellent news.
Oy vey, these circulatory problems with these giants scare the bejesus outta me.
Definitely. But glad he is cleared to play.
Reality booga all vein no muscle bad combo.
Your so vein you probably think its about you…
Gotta give it to you, very sharp my friend.
Whatever
Now can we make the Giannis trade …….
Good to have you back Mr. Wembanyama. Good speed, stay healthy.
Ya gotta get over the fact that there’s no interest in this trade
At least that helped the Spurs get the number two pick this year. Best wishes to Wemby and the Spurs in the upcoming season.
Wow that’s pretty low have some compassion
Spurs are going to dominate in 4-5 years.