After nearly a month sidelined by a left calf strain, Victor Wembanyama is expected to return for the San Antonio Spurs in Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal in Las Vegas against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Wembanyama was listed as probable on Friday’s Spurs injury report.
After the Spurs’ 132-119 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal, coach Mitch Johnson said he was optimistic the big man could return in time for Saturday’s matchup with the Thunder.
“He had a very good day today,” Johnson said. “He had a good intent day this morning, and we’ll have to see how he responds and reacts tomorrow.”
Wembanyama suffered the injury during the Spurs’ game against the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 14. San Antonio went 9-3 without their 21-year-old face of the franchise, who averaged 26.2 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.6 blocks in 12 games this season.
If he returns, the Spurs will be fully healthy for the first time this season. It comes just in time for a matchup against the defending champion Thunder, who, at 24-1, have tied the best 25-game start in NBA history.
During the Spurs’ shootaround Wednesday morning before the NBA Cup quarterfinal, Wembanyama tested his calf by jumping on force plates, which measure impact data from a player’s leaping and landing to help determine if they are moving with sufficient impact and any imbalances in the lower body. He and the surrounding staff seemed sufficiently satisfied with the results, a precursor to the Spurs’ medical staff giving him the go-ahead to play.
While Wembanyama has been getting in a warm-up before games this week, it has been a more abridged and lower-intensity routine than usual. The Spurs were adamant that they won’t rush him back, even for a game they have clearly valued. The franchise takes a cautious approach to its injury timelines, especially those involving its 7-4 franchise cornerstone.
For the Spurs to get past the Thunder, they will need Wembanyama to blend with the uptempo offense that has thrived without him. The Spurs maintained they wanted to play in transition as much as possible entering the season, but the offense got bogged down at times trying to learn how to play through Wembanyama. Once De’Aaron Fox returned from a hamstring strain and got control of the offense, everything started to fall into place, even without Wembanyama.
But the Spurs can’t reach a level high enough to knock the Thunder off its 16-game winning streak without Wembanyama fitting in seamlessly.