Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama cleared, eager to play after recovering from blood clot – The Athletic
SAN ANTONIO — With Spurs training camp opening this week, star Victor Wembanyama said he is ready to return to the floor after suffering a blood clot in February.
“I feel like I need to play basketball now,” Wembanyama said at Spurs media day Monday. “Obviously, I’ve played basketball almost all summer. But, on my body, there’s only so many steps that I’m going to pass in the summer. I’m only going to get so much better, and I think I’ve maxed out what I can do in one summer. And now I need to play basketball and work on my skills and as a team tactically. So yeah, I want to play and I miss it.”
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson, who was promoted from interim coach in May after stepping in following longtime coach Gregg Popovich’s stroke last season, said the team and the NBA have cleared Wembanyama for a return to action.
“He’s been ramping up. He’s been in a really good place,” Johnson said. “I would think, if anything, (with) his excitement and just (readiness) to get back on the court, it’s been obviously some time, and he was in angst for a long time to get back.”
Wembanyama, 21, was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right collarbone last February, a type of blood clot that forced him to sit out the final 30 games of his second NBA season. Wembanyama was put on blood thinners to remove the clot, then spent the summer building up his conditioning while training in methods ranging from Kung Fu with monks in China to on-court training drills in Los Angeles.
“I’m so much more under control and my conditioning has gotten so much better, but that comes at a price, and what I’ve done this summer is world-class,” Wembanyama said. “Even in the field of professional sports, I don’t think many people have trained the way we’ve trained this summer.”
The French center, whose official height in socks was increased to 7-foot-4 on Monday, averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a league-high 3.8 blocks in 46 games last season. His 3-point percentage increased to 35.2 percent while taking 8.8 3s per game, which would have ranked him ninth in volume if he played enough games to qualify for the league leaderboards.
Wembanyama’s game has swiftly evolved in his first two seasons, so his confidence in his offseason training program indicates he has a chance to take another big step forward this season.
“I can assure you, nobody has trained like I did this summer,” Wembanyama said. “And this is my best summer so far. I can tell the progress is just incredible. I feel better, I look stronger and the scale says I’m heavier. So everything is a green light.“
The Spurs open training camp Tuesday and play their first preseason game against on Monday, Oct. 6, against the Guangzhou Loong Lions.
While Wembanyama expects to make his official return to the floor that night, point guard De’Aaron Fox said he doesn’t think he will be ready for the Spurs’ regular-season opening game against the Dallas Mavericks next month. Fox is dealing with a right hamstring injury on top of recovering from surgery to his left pinkie finger in March that ended his season early.
“I feel like I can play on opening day, but (the Spurs are) not letting me,” Fox said. “We’re taking it day by day. I don’t think (I’ll be on the court) for preseason. I don’t think I’ll be ready for opening night.”
The Spurs are already dealing with rookie guard Dylan Harper trying to be ready for opening night after having surgery on his thumb earlier this month.
(Top photo: Scott Wachter / Imagn)
