Not even an injury could stop Victor Wembanyama from breaking a record.
The Frenchman recently had his season shut down by the San Antonio Spurs following a post All-Star Weekend medical.
Wembanyama was enjoying a fine season before a discovery of a blood clot forced his second NBA campaign to end early.
He is suffering from a thrombosis, which occurs when blood turns into clumps inside a blood vessel.
The reigning Rookie of the Year and a first-time NBA All-Star was averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a league-leading 3.8 blocks in 46 games.
Wembanyama is widely regarded as one of the future faces of the NBA.
San Antonio have said they expect Wembanyama to be fully recovered by the start of the 2025-26 season.
“Victor Wembanyama has a form of a blood clot in the right shoulder,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported. “He is out for the season. The Spurs believe this is an isolated condition.”
The Frenchman will also miss out on the Defensive Player of Year award as a result of his early end to the campaign.
This is because the NBA require players to play 65 games minimum to be eligible for any accolade.
One bit of good Wembanyama news has emerged since his injury as a rare rookie card featuring the Frenchman sold for a record $860,100.
The 2023 Panini Prizm Nebula Choice 1/1 card, auctioned by Goldin, surpassed his previous record — a 2023 Prizm Black Shimmer 1/1 rookie card that sold for $516,000 last April, per The Athletic’s Brooks Peck.
Such a high sale, days after a injury, demonstrates that card collectors are still confident about the 21-year-old’s career prospects.
@GOLDIN via X Wembanyama’s card sold for a record price[/caption]
Before the news of his injury, bidding was around $400,000 but following the announcement it doubled to a new record.
Any long-term health issues were completely shut down by acting Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson.
“The medical experts and the people that are smarter than everybody in the room have said and confirm that he’ll be done this year and there is no concern for Victor’s long-term health, personally, or anything related to his basketball activities,” Johnson said.
“There is no reason to believe he won’t be ready to go starting next season.”
A rested and healthy Wembanyama will be expected by everyone for next season as the 21-year-old enters his third NBA campaign.