San Antonio star center Victor Wembanyama missed the second half of the Spurs’ Monday game against the Philadelphia 76ers after sustaining a left rib contusion during a second-quarter collision with the 76ers’ Paul George.
The status of the two-time All-Star moving forward was uncertain.
Wembanyama went to the Spurs’ locker room twice in the second period after the collision but finished the half on the court.
Following San Antonio’s 115-102 victory, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, “At halftime, I was told he wasn’t coming back. I haven’t heard anything else up to this point. I think it would be a positive that he felt like he could come back, and he played the last four or five minutes of the half. So, that’s a positive from my perspective.”
Wembanyama scored 17 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots in officially 16 minutes of court time, which counts as an official game for the purpose of postseason award consideration.
Wembanyama, 22, is in the mix for Most Valuable Player in his third year in the NBA. He is now averaging 24.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-high 3.1 blocks per game.
Monday was Wembanyama’s 64th game of the season, including the NBA Cup final, which otherwise doesn’t count toward players’ stats. Players must appear in 65 games to qualify for postseason awards. The Spurs have three games remaining after Monday.
–Field Level Media
