Spurs star Victor Wembanyama missed his first game of the season on Sunday against Sacramento, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN. Head coach Mitch Johnson indicated the French center was held out for precautionary reasons after experiencing left calf soreness.
“It’s just something that he felt,” Johnson said. “I don’t think there was a specific play. Obviously, we’ve seen around this league recently, the calf-tightness thing is not something you want to take lightly. So, [we’ve] just got to get some more information. Don’t want to push it there.”
Johnson also provided an injury update on No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper, Wright adds. The 19-year-old guard is making progress from a left calf strain and is no longer wearing a walking boot.
“It’s getting better,” Johnson said. “He’s out of the boot. You’ve just got to build that thing up. For every day that you were in the boot or off the court, you’ve probably got to hit it on the other side. It’ll be good to have him back on the court ramping up pretty soon.”
Here are some more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Heat guard Tyler Herro, who made his first All-Star appearance in 2024/25, practiced on Sunday for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in September, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. While the 25-year-old was happy to return to the court, his season debut isn’t necessarily imminent. “It felt great, just being out there with my teammates, being on the court with them first time all season,” Herro said with a smile. “So it felt great to be in the drills. My foot is getting better. I’ve been rehabbing around the clock every day since my surgery, trying to get back as soon as I can and I’m looking at about a week or two hopefully, if there are no setbacks. So we’ll see what happens.”
- Three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo also returned to practice on Sunday, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, but the Heat big man will miss his sixth straight game on Monday due to a left big toe sprain. “A lot less pain that I had,” Adebayo said of his toe injury. “A lot less. So I’m working toward getting out there.” Head coach Erik Spoelstra said neither player has an official timeline for return. “It was great to have (Herro) and Bam on that third unit today,” Spoelstra said, per Winderman. “That third unit looked like they had a boost of energy and confidence with those two in it. So we’ll just keep on building. Don’t have a timeline on them, but obviously that’s a big step today.”
- Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin, who has missed the past 11 games with a right great toe sprain, has been upgraded to questionable ahead of Monday’s matchup in Detroit, the team announced (via Twitter). Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files hears the Montreal native is on track to return tomorrow (Twitter link). Mathurin, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, was off to a strong start to the season prior to the injury, averaging 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in two games.
- Suns guard Grayson Allen suffered a right quad contusion in the first half of Thursday’s win over Indiana and didn’t return for the second. He will missed Sunday’s contest against Atlanta and is considered day-to-day going forward, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “We’ll continue to see how he gets out of this,” head coach Jordan Ott said after Saturday’s practice. “Stick to day-to-day. We just walked through a lot today. Nothing up and down, nothing live. Good to have these two days in between. We need it. It doesn’t seem too bad.”
So many calf strains today. My theory is lack of arch support in sneakers. I wonder if players are using inserts to support their arch?
I agree … tied to that, I imagine the lack of high tops , while great for mobility, aren’t great for lower leg support.
Wemby’s pride was injured badly after 6’6″ Draymond Green blocked him and on another play got the foul on that huge dunk Wemby did illegally.
Dray and Steph own the Spurs til further notice. Spurs are not a better team than the Warriors, period. Anyone disagreeing does not know ball.
They won both games and should be happy. But spurs franchise is on the way up and the warriors are at the end of the steph era with no young star in site. Fox has barely played with this team and the spurs are in there first year of a chance at winning with this group. Harpers big body would of helped against steph. It reminds me when the warriors were coming up and losing close games and series to the spurs with duncan and co till they finally got over the hump and never looked back. I’m excited for them to matchup again. I hope to be in San Francisco to watch in person. Wemby held his own against one of the best defenders of all time. You should be pumped. But you should also see a power house is learning on the fly.
Entirely wrong. Cope. My statement “Dray and Steph own the Spurs til further notice. Spurs are not a better team than the Warriors, period. Anyone disagreeing does not know ball.” is correct.
“But spurs franchise is on the way up and the warriors are at the end of the steph era with no young star in site.”
Its “sight” by the way. And Curry is still in the middle of his prime. GSW has unlimited money and the window will never close as long as Curry is active. Single seasons might be lost to too many injuries, but that’s it. If GSW wins another title, thats 5 in 10 years – that is still a dynasty. Wemby is an icon of the game who just entered his prime, but even then he was bested by an aging Draymond, who has the highest IQ in the league and that will never drop even if his body does.
I appreciate your passion and they have won a lot so you definitely should enjoy it. Trying to talk down to me is pointless, I
Understand you’re probably younger and I used to be worse than that towards people. I don’t want to really argue on here. I enjoy talking hoops with like minded people. I hope the warriors do well.
I am not talking down to you, you made a statement “the warriors are at the end of the steph era with no young star in site.” which both is categorically untrue (literally every year many haters say this, its wrong – Steph putting 46 and 49 on Wemby’s head proves it is wrong) but contains a spelling error that makes you look bad, I want to make you better. I respect you, despite my tone. Stop saying things like “The warriors run is almost over”. It’s not. The Warriors have an owner committed to winning and spending. They will get a huge FA if/when Steph retires.
As for the ageism, if you are under 40 then I am definitely older than you. This is the internet, this is how people talk. If you say something wrong, people will call you out over it. You were wrong when you said the Warriors run is almost over with no good young players. This is also a fallacy because a 40+ year old Steph with a strong supporting cast with no superstar is still winning a title. Steph is not slowing down no matter what you want to believe.
The Warriors would have won the title last year had Curry not hurt his hamstring. 2022 Warriors won with no secondary superstar. Wemby might have to wait a long time before he gets a ring (he likely will get one, but if he has to run through playoffs Steph/Warriors, he won’t get far).
Harper a big size 19 yr old. Who you would think is more NBA ready. I don’t believe in giving 19 yr old rookies major mins. Especially ones who don’t have their adult bodies yet. They are a major investment as lottery picks. Or even first rd picks. If you want to give them major mins. You should do it in G-league. No 19 yr old is a savior. Best to protect your investment. Even if it’s for a year or two. They can always be worked in as a reserve.
Every day I get outta bed my calfs hurt, my back hurts and my hip hurts and my feet hurt and my shoulders hurt and I still go to work for a 12 hour shift. If I didn’t do my job every time I had pain or a strain or a hang nail, I’d be homeless and hungry.