Is Victor Wembanyama playing tonight against Sacramento Kings? Latest on Spurs rookie's status (February 22)

On Thursday night, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are slated to face off against the Sacramento Kings. The matchup is scheduled for 10 pm Eastern Time and can be viewed on NBA League Pass.

The Spurs have a litany of players on their injury report, but the 2023 No. 1 pick is not one of them. He will continue his Rookie of the Year campaign in the first game out of the All-Star break.

Heading into Thursday, the Spurs are in last place in the Western Conference with a 11-44 record. As for the Kings, they are one of the many teams jockying for position in eighth place.

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Victor Wembanyama's status vs. Kings

Since Victor Wembanyama is not on the injury report, he will be active against the Sacramento Kings Thursday. So far this season, he has appeared in 49 of the San Antonio Spurs' 55 games.

From the moment he stepped on an NBA court, Wembanyama has lived up to the massive pre-draft hype. His averages for the season currently sit at 20.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and a league-leading 3.2 blocks.

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What happened to Victor Wembanyama?

Over the course of a long season, all players deal with nagging injuries. Victor Wembanyama has been relatively healthy through his rookie campaign, but has had some hiccups.

Back in December, Wembanyama was warming up for a matchup agaisnt the Dallas Mavericks. While going through his routine, he rolled his ankle after stepping on a ball boy's foot. The Spurs center ended up missing the game that night.

Victor Wembanyama didn't miss significant time, but this incident caused the Spurs to put him on a minutes restriction. They kept him around 25 minutes a game, but have slowly increased his workload in recent weeks.

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Victor Wembanyama remains atop NBA rookie ladder

Heading into the season, Wembanyama was expected to be the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. While there have been multiple standout first-year players, this award race has come down to two players.

Wembanyama remains atop the latest rookie ladder, but another impressive big man is right on his heels. That being OKC Thunder Chet Holmgren. Along with putting up stellar numbers, he has helped lead his squad to second place in the Western Conference. This season, Holmgren is averaging 16.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG and 2.6 BPG.

One thing that gives Wembanyama an edge is he is the top option for his squad. Even with the team success not being there, it's not because of the play of the Spurs rookie.

Just before the All-Star break, Wembanyama showed what a dominant force he is. In a blowout win over the Toronto Raptors, he notched a triple-double with 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks.