Victor Wembanyama Exits Monday’s Game With Rib Contusion

According to Weiss, the injury occurred in the first half when the French big man fell to the ground. Luke Kornet started the third quarter with Wembanyama sidelined.

The silver lining for Wembanyama is he was able to play 16 minutes in the first half, so the appearance will still count toward the 65-game minimum. The 22-year-old had one previous outing where he played 17 minutes and that will also count toward the games-played requirement.

Wembanyama needs to play at least 20 minutes in one of San Antonio’s final three games to be eligible for major postseason awards. He will be at 64 regular season games if that comes to fruition, and the reason that would be enough to qualify is he played in the NBA Cup final, which counts toward the minimum requirement even though the statistics from that game aren’t officially recorded.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Wembanyama had 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks in his 16 minutes Monday. The team was plus-seven when he was on the court.

Assuming he qualifies, Wembanyama is viewed as a lock to win Defensive Player of the Year and appears likely to be a finalist for MVP. He’s a strong candidate for first-team All-NBA as well.

In the latest straw poll from ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, which was released Thursday morning, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the overwhelming favorite to win his second consecutive MVP award. The Canadian superstar received 88 of the 100 potential first-place votes for a total of 958 points.

Wembanyama, who has touted his own MVP credentials a couple times in recent weeks, was in second place with eight first-place votes and 644 total points. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who has either won or finished second in MVP voting in each of the past five seasons, was in third with 500 points.

The only other player to receive a first-place vote was Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, who received one and was in fifth place with 123 points. Lakers guard Luka Doncic was fourth with 347 points.

Of course, the bigger concern for the Spurs is the health of their best player as they look to make a deep playoff run. Wembanyama has also been battling right ankle pain the past few weeks, though that injury evidently doesn’t bother him all the time.