What happened to Victor Wembanyama? Closer look at Spurs star's season ending health scare

Since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2023, Victor Wembanyama has been on the fast track to stardom in the NBA. Three quarters of the way through his sophomore season, the All-Star big man now faces a major roadblock.

On Thursday afternoon, the San Antonio Spurs announced that Wembanyama will miss the remainder of the season. Upon returning to the team from the All-Star game, he has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder. This type of blood cot is expected to keep him sidelined through the rest of the 2024-25 campaign.

Victor Wembanyama had already established himself as one of the NBA's top two-way forces at only 21-years-old. With his season now over, he ends his sophomore campaign with averages of 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocks.

With their star big man on the sidelines, newly-acquired De'Aaron Fox will be called upon to lead the charge for the Spurs the rest of the way.

---

NBA insider details possible timeline for Victor Wembanyama following season-ending injury

Not long after reporting on the news of Victor Wembanyama being out for the season, Shams Charania joined SportsCenter to provide more insight. During his TV appearance, he detailed the possible timeline for the former No. 1 pick in regards to a return.

At this time, the Spurs remain optimistic about their star big man moving forward. While speaking about the diagnosis, Charania cited the franchise hopes the blood clot is isolated and there's no spread outside his shoulder. As far as when he'll be back on the floor, the expectation is that he'll be recovered by the start of next season.

"The Spurs right now believe this is an isolated condition, that there's one form of a blood clot in that right shoulder of his," Charania said. "The hope is that obviously there's no spread, that there's nothing more here and that he's gonna be ready to go for the offseason and for the 2025-26 season."

Losing Victor Wembanyama for the rest of the season is a big blow not only for the Spurs but the NBA as a whole. Standing at 7-foot-4, he quickly became a must-watch player among the league's fanbase. Not to mention Wembanyama helps grow the league globally as an international star.

As for the Spurs, they recently just made a big upgrade alongside Wembanyama by acquiring Fox at the deadline. Now they'll have to wait until next season to see how far this duo will be able to take the franchise moving forward.

San Antonio had a chance to sneak into the play-in tournament in these final weeks of the regular season. That said, now that their top player is sidelined long-term, their playoff aspirations have likely dissipated.