Why is Victor Wembanyama not playing against New Orleans Pelicans? Latest status of San Antonio Spurs' rookie explored (Dec 1)

Victor Wembanyama has played in all 18 games of the San Antonio Spurs this season. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft has lived up to his high expectations with his excellent production on the court as a rookie. However, Wembanyama will not be playing in the Spurs' matchup tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans, missing his first NBA game.

With that said, why is Victor Wembanyama not playing against the New Orleans Pelicans? According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, the Spurs center has a right hip tightness. It was also the same injury that had him listed as questionable against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night, but he ended up suiting up for the game.

During the Hawks game, Wembanyama logged 29 minutes, putting up 21 points (9 of 16 shooting, including 1 of 5 from 3-point range), 12 rebounds and four blocks. Despite the double-double performance, the Spurs dropped the game with a score of 137-135, making it 13 straight losses. It was a close one through and through, with the young Spurs team struggling to close the deal in the fourth quarter.

Speaking after the game, Victor Wembanyama figured he'd be "day-to-day" with the injury but reassured that it wasn't anything of grave concern.

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San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich talks about Victor Wembanyama

During postgame interviews last night, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich talked about "protecting" Victor Wembanyama from further injuries and figured he might not play against the New Orleans Pelicans.

"We're trying to protect him [Victor Wembanyama]," Popovich said. "He may not play tomorrow. We'll see how he came out of this one."

With the Spurs' injury report for today's game, Wembanyama being sidelined looks to be the case, as the team will be playing in a back-to-back scenario. Concerns regarding Wembanyama's health and adjustment to the long 82-game season were evident during scouting reports before the 2023 NBA draft.

Despite him being out for tonight's game, players will sit out some games throughout an NBA season. Luckily enough for the San Antonio Spurs, this has only been his first missed game, as he played through all of the team's 18 games this season.

Moreover, Wembanyama is averaging 19.3 points (43.7% shooting, including 27.1% from 3-point range), 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. He is also logging 30.0 minutes per game.