The San Antonio Spurs ruled out star center Victor Wembanyama for Thursday night’s showdown against the Denver Nuggets because of right ankle soreness.
The Spurs announced the decision about 45 minutes before tipoff against the visiting Nuggets and Nikola Jokic in a battle of two of the Western Conference’s top teams.
Wembanyama, who had been questionable on the NBA injury report ahead of the game, tested the ankle pregame before the Spurs opted to keep him out.
“We’ll be mindful of all of it,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “Fortunately, I think regardless, this is something we view as very short term. It’s very much how he’s feeling versus risk of bigger picture.”
Wembanyama must play in 13 of San Antonio’s final 16 games for end-of-season award eligibility. The NBA requires players to play at least 20 minutes for 65 games during the 82-game regular season.
Wembanyama has played in 51 games this season. He is credited with a 52nd game after playing in the NBA Cup Final, which does not count toward the regular-season standings or statistics, but is part of the 65-game requirement.
Information from ESPN’s Michael C. Wright and The Associated Press was used in this report.
