Victor Wembanyama

Wembanyama Sustains Left Calf Strain, Out Multiple Weeks

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been diagnosed with a left calf strain after undergoing an MRI, the team announced in a press release. The French center suffered the injury in Friday’s loss to Golden State.

While the Spurs didn’t give a return timeline for the former No. 1 overall pick, ESPN’s Shams Charania hears Wembanyama will miss a few weeks (Twitter link).

Through 12 appearances this season, Wembanyama has averaged 26.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals and a league-high 3.6 blocks in 34.7 minutes per game. He’s second in the league in rebounds per contest (Nikola Jokic is at 13.0) and holds a shooting slash line of .500/.345/.857.

The 21-year-old big man missed his first game of the season on Sunday due to the injury — head coach Mitch Johnson indicated Wembanyama experienced soreness in his calf on Friday and would undergo testing.

According to Michael C. Wright of ESPN (Twitter link), Wembanyama was wearing a “small sleeve” on his calf in the locker room following Sunday’s win, but was otherwise in good spirits and didn’t seem to be in any pain. Still, San Antonio is known for being cautious with injuries, and calf strains are notoriously tricky to manage — they can also lead to more severe injuries.

Both Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press and Wright (Twitter links) hear Wembanyama will be reevaluated in two-to-three weeks, confirming Charania’s reporting.

Backup center Luke Kornet and veteran big man Kelly Olynyk are among the Spurs who could receive more playing time with Wembanyama out.

Second-year guard Stephon Castle was also hurt recently, having suffered a hip injury on Sunday which prevented him from returning from the victory over Sacramento (Twitter link via Matthew Tynan). It’s unclear if the reigning Rookie of the Year will miss additional time as a result of the injury.

Several noteworthy players — including Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Wembanyama and Spurs rookie Dylan Harper — have been diagnosed with calf strains in recent weeks.

Injury Notes: Wemby, Harper, Herro, Bam, Mathurin, Allen

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.”

Bontemps/Windhorst’s Latest: Davis, Magic, Clippers, LeBron

With the Mavericks off to a 3-9 start, there’s a feeling around the league that trading Anthony Davis — and possibly Kyrie Irving as well — might be their best strategy, according to Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Dallas fired general manager Nico Harrison this week amid continued fan uproar over February’s Luka Doncic trade, and now personnel moves may be necessary to carve out a brighter future.

Trade speculation has already focused on Davis, who is currently sidelined with a left calf strain and has appeared in just five games this season. He’s under contract for $58.5MM in 2026/27 and has a $62.8MM player option for the following season. He’ll become eligible for an extension next summer and could earn up to $218.5MM by picking up the option and extending for three more years.

Considering Davis’ contract situation and his long injury history, Windhorst states that the Mavs may have trouble getting the return they would want in a potential trade.

“I just looked it up so I could say this to my owner if he asks me about it, AD is turning 33 in March and he’s going to be in position next summer where he’ll probably want a contract extension that would cost $70MM per year when he’d be 37,” a rival general manager said. “He’s a great player, full stop. But when you consider a player at his age with his injury history, you’d also be trading for the stress of that extension. That plays into it.”

Executives around the league tell Bontemps that while the Mavericks could still be formidable with a fully healthy roster, moving the two stars and replenishing their draft assets while building around Cooper Flagg is probably their best strategy. After the 2026 draft, Dallas doesn’t control any of its first-round picks for the rest of the decade.

Parting with Davis and Irving would also help the Mavs escape the luxury tax, Bontemps adds. The team is projected to have a tax bill around $32MM this season, and the current roster is about $16MM over the tax threshold.

Bontemps and Windhorst share more inside information from around the NBA:

  • The Magic have won five of their last seven games, but their offense is still just 18th in the league and the offseason trade for Desmond Bane hasn’t provided the spark that was hoped for. According to Windhorst, head coach Jamahl Mosley has turned over most of the play calling to assistant Joe Prunty, who was hired during the offseason. However, some observers are skeptical that the current roster is capable of producing an efficient offense. “It’s got to get a little better, but the pieces aren’t changing,” a West executive said. “Bane will settle in eventually. But you still have a ball-dominant, iso star in Paolo (Banchero) that doesn’t scream ball movement, player movement and getting open shots. It hasn’t been pretty at all.”
  • With an old roster and growing injury concerns, the Clippers may be “cooked” after a 3-8 start. Bradley Beal has been lost for the season with a hip fracture, and Kawhi Leonard has been diagnosed with a sprained foot as well as a sprained ankle. It appears the decision to invest heavily in veteran talent is backfiring, as Windhorst notes that Brook Lopez, Nicolas Batum and Bogdan Bogdanovic haven’t been productive early in the season, while Chris Paul is completely out of the rotation. “They move so slowly, they can’t recover when they turn the ball over or give up a quick transition,” one advance scout said.
  • The Spurs and Lakers are both off to impressive starts, but there are mixed opinions on whether they can finish in the top four in the West. A West scout doesn’t believe Victor Wembanyama can hold up for 82 games, while an East executive isn’t convinced that L.A. will get better when LeBron James returns from his injury. “Don’t ask me about the Lakers until I can see LeBron play and see him move and how he looks,” the executive said. “He isn’t just dealing with the sciatica, he hurt his knee at the end of last season, and it surely affected his training routine. He’s never started a season coming off injuries like this before.”

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Okogie, Kornet, Mavs

The Pelicans‘ first 10 games of the 2025/26 season have gone about as poorly as they could have, according to William Guillory of The Athletic, with star forward Zion Williamson sidelined due to another hamstring injury and Willie Green‘s hold on his head coaching job looking tenuous.

As Guillory writes, even when the 2-8 Pelicans have been relatively healthy, things haven’t gone according to plan — the trio of Williamson, Trey Murphy III, and Herbert Jones has a net rating of -11.3 during their 75 minutes on the court together.

Lottery picks Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen have been two of the only reasons for optimism in New Orleans so far, Guillory continues. Fears has shown off his ball-handling skills and his ability to make things happen in open-court situations while improving as a decision-maker in pick-and-roll scenarios. Queen, meanwhile, has acted at times as the team’s offensive hub and has scored double-digit points in each of his last four games despite playing a relatively modest role (23.5 MPG).

Guillory also singles out offseason trade addition Saddiq Bey as a bright spot for the Pelicans in the early going, observing that the veteran forward has played better in his return from an ACL tear than Jordan Poole has through three weeks. The duo was acquired from Washington in a summer deal that sent out CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk.

Things won’t get any easier for the Pelicans in the near future, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com, who writes that the team is about to begin a five-game home stand against Western Conference opponents that includes matchups with the Lakers, Warriors, Thunder, and Nuggets.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • In an offseason that saw the Rockets acquire players like Kevin Durant, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Clint Capela, minimum-salary free agent addition Josh Okogie flew under the radar. However, he has emerged as a valuable part of the team’s rotation, writes Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required). Okogie has started seven of nine games and Houston is 6-1 in those starts. “He has the same DNA as the guys that we brought in initially and (does) some of what Dillon (Brooks) did, and Dorian, Jae’Sean (Tate), those guys,” head coach Ime Udoka said. “His defensive versatility, offensive rebounding, being able to knock down those shots, it’s what we need at that position. Takes the pressure off Amen (Thompson), and so he’s a guy you can kind of plug in with all these different lineups, and adds more to our depth than just versatility on defense.”
  • After missing seven games due to ankle and shoulder injuries, Spurs center Luke Kornet had a big game in his return on Monday, scoring 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds in a win over Chicago. The Kornet/Victor Wembanyama pairing playfully known as “French Vanilla” came up big down the stretch and now has a +23.0 net rating in three games together, as Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) details. “It’s good to have him back,” Wembanyama said. “There are not a lot of shot-blockers like him in the league. It’s always good to play with Luke.”
  • Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) considers what’s next in Dallas following the dismissal of general manager Nico Harrison, suggesting that trades involving Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving could take some time to materialize even if the Mavericks are open to moving them. Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required) also examines the challenges facing new co-interim GMs Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi, who take over a team that lacks draft assets and features several underachieving veterans.

Spurs Notes: Castle, McLaughlin, Wembanyama, Champagnie, Harper

Stephon Castle was happy to win Rookie of the Year honors last season, but he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that it doesn’t change anything about his approach to the game. Castle was selected for the award by a wide margin, getting 92 of 100 first-place votes, but now he wants to focus on other goals, like getting the Spurs into the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

“I feel like once you get it, your name is installed in history,” Castle said of the ROY trophy. “And then you have to go make your career after that. I’m not going out there saying, ‘I’m the Rookie of the Year and give me a vet (officiating) call, respect me.’ You got to go out there and play. I’m not really thinking about that (award) when I’m playing in the game. I’m just trying to improve every year.”

Castle is off to an even better start to his second NBA season — averaging 18.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.6 assists through eight games — and he’s been handling the starting point guard duties while De’Aaron Fox was sidelined. He’s also San Antonio’s best perimeter defender and routinely gets assigned to handle the opponent’s top scorer.

“He can impact winning whether he is on the ball, off the ball, defensively,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “He is going to guard a ton of different profiles in terms of premier players on teams. He has an opportunity to affect the game as much as anybody.”

There’s more from San Antonio:

  • Reserve guard Jordan McLaughlin scored nine points in nine minutes on Friday night as the Spurs opened NBA Cup play with a win over Houston, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). McLaughlin saw limited action last season after being acquired from Sacramento in February, but management liked him enough to re-sign him to a one-year, $3MM deal. “That’s why we brought him back,” Johnson said after Friday’s game. “He’s a professional, a mature adult, a great teammate who’s a really cerebral, skilled basketball player.”
  • Victor Wembanyama was impressed by former WWE star Mark Henry, who chatted with players during a visit to Frost Bank Center on Friday, per Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Billed as “the world’s strongest man,” Henry passed along a few weightlifting tips to Wembanyama, who Finger notes still frequently finds himself outmuscled by opponents. Kevin (Durant) was in the same boat early,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Until you get that strength, the first thing that everybody’s going to try to do is be physical with you.”
  • Fox’s return to action means Julian Champagnie is coming off the bench for the first time this season, tweets Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Champagnie was averaging a career-high 30 minutes per night and scoring 10.1 PPG through the season’s first eight games.
  • Prior to tonight’s contest, Johnson told reporters that Dylan Harper, who’s sidelined with a left calf strain, hasn’t resumed physical activity yet, relays Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Luka, Ayton, Smart, Harding

LeBron James is reportedly gearing up to play five-on-five. The 40-year-old superstar’s 2025/26 season debut has been delayed by sciatica on his right side.

According to the Lakers, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer has been cleared for contact work and will be reevaluated in one-to-two weeks (Twitter link via Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group).

Here’s more on the Lakers:

  • The team recorded an impressive victory on Wednesday against San Antonio despite missing James and Austin Reaves (right groin soreness), writes Law Murray of The Athletic. Luka Doncic had a poor shooting night, but still finished with game highs of 35 points, 13 assists and five steals (he also contributed nine rebounds and two blocks).
  • Perhaps more importantly, Deandre Ayton (22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, 10 rebounds, one steal, two blocks, and zero turnovers) outdueled Victor Wembanyama (19 points on 5-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block, and five turnovers before fouling out) in the battle of former No. 1 overall picks, Murray notes. “That’s something I’ve been wanting to show, especially to my coaching staff as well,” Ayton said of his defense. “And they trust me to really go out there and guard one or two dribbles before my help come. And yeah, I’ll be good, comfortable out there. I know my help coming, so I’m straight.”
  • Veteran guard Marcus Smart nearly blew the game after committing a careless turnover in the final seconds, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Smart stepped on the end line as he attempted to make an inbounds pass. “To have that call at the end of the game, 1.2 [seconds], we got a guy wide open, all he’s got to do is catch it and the ballgame is over,” Smart said. “It’s kind of crazy, but as a 12-year vet, I can’t make that mistake. I take full ownership of it. My teammates understand. They are going to joke with me. They are going to let me hear about it. But it will never happen again.”
  • Within an in-depth story for ESPN.com, McMenamin writes that Lakers assistant coach Lindsey Harding aspires to be the first female head coach in NBA history. Governor Jeanie Buss believes Harding has all the tools for the job. “She’s a professional, she knows the game, she is a great communicator, she brings a level of energy, positivity. She is just great,” Buss told ESPN. “I’m just thrilled that she is part of our staff. But I understand if people are going to try to pick her off because she’s just that good.”

Wembanyama, Antetokounmpo Named Players Of The Week

Spurs center Victor Wembanyama has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week, while Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has won the award in the East, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Wembanyama had a remarkable first week of the season, averaging 33.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists (against just 0.7 turnovers), 1.7 steals and 6.0 blocks in leading San Antonio to an unblemished 3-0 record. The French big man’s shooting slash line was .569/.364/.733.

This is the second time Wembanyama has been named Player of the Week, per the Spurs.

Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee to a 2-1 record last week and put up an absurd stat line of 36.0 PPG, 16.0 RPG, 7.0 APG and 1.0 BPG on .683/.667/.629 shooting.

The Greek superstar claimed his 28th weekly award and became the first player in league history to record at least 100 points, 40 rebounds and 15 assists in the first three games of the season, per the Bucks.

According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. LaMelo Ball, Jalen Brunson, VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell and Norman Powell were nominated in the East.

And-Ones: Payne, Key, Raman, Breakout Players

EuroLeague team Partizan Belgrade has expressed “serious” interest in free agent point guard Cameron Payne, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (via Twitter).

As Stein notes, the Serbian club is looking for a backcourt replacement in the wake of a serious ankle injury to former NBA guard Carlik Jones, who will reportedly miss three months of action.

Payne has spent most of the past 10 seasons in the NBA after being selected 14th overall in 2015. He appeared in 72 regular season games with the Knicks in 2024/25, averaging 6.9 PPG and 2.8 APG in 15.1 MPG.

The 31-year-old went unsigned for nearly the entire offseason prior to catching on with Indiana on October 9. However, Payne didn’t play well during the preseason, and the Pacers decided to waive him before ’25/26 began even though they had (and still have) several backcourt injuries.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Four-year NBA veteran Braxton Key, who spent all of training camp and the preseason with Memphis before being cut last week, has officially signed a rest-of-season deal with Valencia Basket, the Spanish team announced in a press release (hat tip to Eurohoops). The 28-year-old forward was named G League Defensive Player of the Year last season and finished out ’24/25 on a standard contract with Golden State.
  • Sonia Raman, who was an assistant coach with the Grizzlies from 2020-24 prior to spending last season as an assistant with the WNBA’s New York Liberty, has agreed to a multiyear contract to become the Seattle Storm’s new head coach, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The Storm also compete in the WNBA.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic lists 12 players he believes are primed for breakout seasons, including younger stars like Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and Lakers guard Luka Doncic, as well as more under-the-radar players such as Raptors big man Sandro Mamukelashvili and Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. A pair of young Wizards wings — Cam Whitmore and Kyshawn George — are also breakout candidates, according to Hollinger.

Southwest Notes: Harrison, Wembanyama, Fears, Queen, Dumars

The good vibes from the Mavericks‘ draft lottery win in the spring haven’t carried over to the regular season. After consecutive losses to open the year, fans in Dallas are already chanting ‘Fire Nico!’  Those chants, referring to president of basketball operations Nico Harrison, filled American Airlines Center during their 10-point loss to the rebuilding Wizards on Friday, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes.

“I think they have a right to vent, but there’s a patience [needed],” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s a different team. It’s a new team. We’re just getting to understand each other. We’re going to keep learning each other. “So I would say be patient, but I understand the frustration. We all want to win. We all want to compete at a high level, but it’s a game of expression, and fans have a right to express themselves. But that doesn’t stop us from coming to work tomorrow and getting better and getting ready for Sunday [against Toronto].”

Kidd recently received a multiyear extension but there have not been any discussions about a contract extension for Harrison, according to MacMahon. Harrison has two years remaining on his deal.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

  • Victor Wembanyama came close to a triple-double in the Spurs’ overtime win over New Orleans on Friday with 29 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News notes. Wembanyama’s big performance came two nights after a 40-point, 15-rebound outburst in the Spurs’ 125-92 season-opening blowout of Dallas. That performance awed this year’s top pick, the Mavs’ Cooper Flagg. “He is incredible. He is a different player,” Flagg said, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN. “You can’t know what it’s like until you’re out there on the court with him. It’s something I’ve never seen before. He was great tonight, but we’ve got to do a better job of trying to just take away some of his looks, and we can’t foul him as much as we did.”
  • Pelicans first-rounders Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen are already playing meaningful minutes, as Rod Walker of NOLA.com writes. They were on the floor during the final minutes of regulation and most of overtime against the Spurs. Queen played 35 minutes and finished with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Fears played 29 minutes and had 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist. “I saw a lot of poise from both guys at the end of the game, throughout the whole game really,” Pelicans’ coach Willie Green said. “You can tell they want it.”
  • The Pelicans’ performances this season after major roster renovations will go a long way in determining how Joe Dumars’ tenure as the lead executive plays out, Walker opines. “Before you can get to the playoffs or a certain amount of wins, the first thing you have to get to is, ‘We compete hard every night,’” Dumars said. “If you don’t establish that in your building first, you’re just talking. You’re just giving quotes out at that point. For me, it’s a process of establishing a hard, competitive playing team every night. Then we will get to the wins and losses.”

Spurs Notes: Biyombo, Kornet, Harper, Waters

Veteran big man Bismack Biyombo, who earned a spot on the Spurs‘ roster for the upcoming season, is valued by the organization for more than just his on-court contributions, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. McDonald points to a preseason game this week in which Biyombo enjoyed playing the role of teacher as he was on the court with four young players who are headed for the G League.

“It’s a great group of young guys just to be around and help them out,” Biymobo said. “I think when you enjoy doing what you do, then you can’t call it work. And I enjoy working with good people.”

Biyombo was out of the NBA in February when he received a call from the Spurs, who were seeking help at center after trading Zach Collins to Chicago. Biyombo signed a 10-day deal with the expectation of being a backup, but he was promoted to the starting lineup when San Antonio lost Victor Wembanyama for the season with deep vein thrombosis.

He re-signed this summer on an Exhibit 9 contract that only guaranteed him a spot at training camp. The Spurs saw his influence as a leader late last season and decided to keep him on the roster.

“He is very selfless,” Julian Champagnie said. “He goes on the floor with those young guys and teaches them. He’s directing traffic. Stuff like that’s really valuable.”

There’s more from San Antonio:

  • “French Vanilla” is the catchy nickname Spurs fans have given to the combination of Wembanyama and free agent addition Luke Kornet, McDonald adds in a separate story. The former Celtics center was brought in primarily to be a backup for Wembanyama, but they’ve been effective in their minutes together. “Having two rim protectors can give you a lot of versatility to make things hard for the teams,” Kornet said. “Then should be a fun time trying to figure it out offensively how to best fit that together.” 
  • San Antonio has several options at point guard, but Dylan Harper is best positioned to be Wembanyama’s long-term partner, observes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. The No. 2 pick in this year’s draft was sidelined for a while following thumb surgery, but he’s already showing signs of stardom since returning. “There’s a reason that there are expectations and thoughts of him before he got to this gym, and I think it’s our job to continue to cultivate that and support that and challenge him,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “He’s obviously shown a knack for sound decision-making and making plays with the basketball in his hands.”
  • Lindy Waters III will undergo a minor laser eye procedure to correct an issue that was found in his preseason physical, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Waters won’t be available for opening night, but he’s not expected to miss much – if any – time beyond that.