Victor Wembanyama watched from the bench on Wednesday night as the San Antonio Spurs ended LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA Cup hopes in the quarterfinals. Wembanyama has been forced to sit out the last 12 games due to a calf injury, including Wednesday’s 132-119 victory over L.A.
The Spurs are now headed to the semifinals to face the defending NBA champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, who blew out the Phoenix Suns in their quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday, 138-89, to secure their spot in the next round. The Spurs and the Thunder will battle on Saturday, with the winner moving on to the NBA Cup Final against either the New York Knicks or the Orlando Magic. As it turns out, there is now a possibility Wembanyama will be ready to suit up Saturday against OKC.
The last time Wembanyama saw action for the Spurs was on Nov. 14 in a 109-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The 7-foot-4 big man has since been working his way back from a calf strain. Wembanyama has been making significant progress of late, and he is now close to returning.
San Antonio head coach Mitch Johnson spoke to reporters after Wednesday’s win, and he was able to provide a substantial update on Wembanyama’s status. Johnson confirmed that the 21-year-old superstar has a legitimate shot at playing on Saturday. “Very much so,” Johnson said on the possibility of Wembanyama suiting up against the Thunder, via Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “He had a very good day today. He had a good intent day this morning, and we’ll have to see how he responds and reacts tomorrow.”
Wembanyama has two more days to get himself ready for one of the biggest games of the season for the Spurs. They will enter the matchup as underdogs against a Thunder side that has now started off the season 24-1. However, with Wembanyama in the picture, San Antonio should have a real chance of upsetting the champs in the semis.
Wembanyama has been limited to 12 games so far this season, producing averages of 26.2 points on 50.2% shooting, 12.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.6 blocks in 34.7 minutes per contest. He is also knocking down 1.7 triples per game on a 34.5% clip.
