"They gonna get Cooper Flagg" - NBA fans shocked as Victor Wembanyama suffers season-ending blood clot

Following the NBA's All-Star break, longtime insider Shams Charania reported on Thursday that Victor Wembanyama had been shut down for the season. According to the ESPN reporter, Wembanyama, who has been a strong favorite to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award, has a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.

Charania was quick to follow up his initial report with another, indicating that the San Antonio Spurs believe the blood clot is an isolated condition, and won't pose problems down the line.

Despite that, the fact of the matter remains that San Antonio will now be without its star player heading into the final stretch of the season, where it'll look to make a strong playoff push after acquiring De'Aaron Fox leading up to the trade deadline.

In response to the news, NBA fans were quick to react, with many pointing out that the absence of Wembanyama could lead to San Antonio landing Cooper Flagg with the top pick of the draft.

"Damn they gonna get Cooper Flagg," - one fan wrote.

"I'd give the Spurs a 50% chance of drafting Cooper Flagg," - another added.

"I’m not even a Spurs fan and I’m devastated," - one replied.

Others compared the situation to the one that ended Hall of Famer Chris Bosh's career:

"I hope he gets past it. Still hurts thinking about Bosh," - another fan added.

"Ain’t this what the association ended Bosh’s career over?" - one replied.

"I thought it was just preventive holy shit man blood clots are scary I remember Chris Bosh," - one fan wrote.

San Antonio Spurs release statement on Victor Wembanyama's condition following NBA's All-Star Weekend

This past weekend, Victor Wembanyama was taking in all the sights of All-Star Weekend. In addition to playing in Sunday's All-Star Game, the Spurs star was seen courtside for All-Star Saturday, where his teammate Stephon Castle participated in the dunk contest.

After a six-point outing in the opening game of the mini-tournament, Victor Wembanyama kept the momentum rolling with an 11-point outing in the final game of the mini-tournament.

Wembanyama seemed to be enjoying himself, and had made it clear prior to the game that he would be putting his best foot forward. According to a statement released by the Spurs on Thursday, following All-Star Weekend, a medical evaluation revealed the blood clot in his shoulder.

In a statement released via Instagram, the organization provided fans an update on the situation:

"The San Antonio Spurs today announced that Victor Wembanyama has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. The condition was discovered when Wembanyama returned to San Antonio following the All-Star Game in San Francisco.

"Wembanyama is expected to miss the remainder of the 2024-25 regular season. The team will provide updates as appropriate."

Given how serious blood clots are, it seems unlikely that San Antonio will try to rush him back for a playoff push.