By NBA insiders | ESPN, 2025-02-21 08:00:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
周四下午，在菲尼克斯太阳队离开穆迪中心球馆后几分钟，圣安东尼奥马刺队队员们陆续走进球馆进行投篮训练。
一个显眼的缺席者是划时代的天才球星维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)，他没有随队前往德克萨斯州奥斯汀，参加与太阳队和底特律活塞队的两场比赛。当球队在地板上热身时，圣安东尼奥的管理层在幕后加紧准备发布一个重磅消息：文班亚马很可能因右肩深静脉血栓而缺席2024-25赛季剩余的常规赛。
文班亚马上次发言是在周日晚上于旧金山举行的NBA全明星周末的闭幕式上，他当时表示希望“暂时忘掉篮球48小时”。
就在这段时间内，他收到了诊断结果。
“最艰难的是对我们所有人来说，我们都知道他对球队意味着什么，”克里斯·保罗说，“更重要的是，我们知道他对比赛意味着什么，以及他有多热爱比赛。”
这位首次入选全明星的球员上赛季被一致评为年度最佳新秀，并入围了年度最佳防守球员的最终候选名单。他也是本赛季防守奖项的热门人选，以场均3.8个盖帽领跑全联盟。
就在上个月，文班亚马在他的祖国法国打了两场比赛，NBA宣布，这两场比赛的门票都在24小时内售罄，来自53个国家和地区的球迷购买了门票，创下了NBA赛事的新纪录。
仅仅在他的第二个赛季，文班亚马就已经崛起为全球巨星。周六，明尼苏达森林狼队后卫安东尼·爱德华兹(Anthony Edwards)被问及，他是否认为自己会成为当今一代退役后NBA的未来门面。
“不，不太可能，”这位三次入选全明星的球员说，“他们有文班呢。”
但现在文班亚马将缺席常规赛的最后30场比赛。圣安东尼奥原本希望在交易来速度型后卫德埃隆·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)后，认真冲击一下附加赛的资格。但现在，马刺队的赛季陷入了困境，他们最好的球员缺席，前场的深度又非常薄弱。
我们的NBA内部人士将分析这一消息对文班亚马、马刺队以及整个NBA的其余影响。
我们对马刺队本赛季剩余比赛有何期待？
如果圣安东尼奥最好的球员无法出场，马刺队的赛季就结束了。马刺队的季后赛荒很可能会延续到六个赛季，自1976-77赛季加入NBA以来，他们此前只错过了四次季后赛——而且从未连续缺席。
文班亚马吸引了太多的注意力，以至于近几周很少有人注意到马刺队前场令人震惊的深度不足。当球队在交易福克斯时不得不放弃扎克·科林斯(Zach Collins)时，情况变得更加糟糕。查尔斯·巴锡(Charles Bassey)是文班亚马之后球队的二号中锋，但他在2月3日遭遇了左膝内侧副韧带扭伤。
马刺队签下了俾斯麦·比永博(Bismack Biyombo)一份10天合同以增加深度，他很可能会在未来几天内获得一份标准合同。马刺队在全明星周末期间花费了大量时间在内部研究哪些轮换阵容和球员组合效果最好，因为他们准备在赛季的冲刺阶段争取一个附加赛席位。显然，这些组合很大程度上都包括文班亚马和新援福克斯。马刺队目前以场均11个篮板排名联盟第11位。预计这个数字会急剧下降。– Michael C. Wright
什么是DVT？
深静脉血栓，简称DVT，是静脉内形成血栓造成阻塞的专业术语。造成此类血栓的原因有多种，包括遗传性凝血障碍（这在精英运动员中很少见）或制动（例如，肢体在手术后固定一段时间，可能会增加血栓形成的风险），但这些情况都不太可能发生。血栓也可能因该区域的直接外伤而引起（导致出血或肿胀的外伤事件会增加血栓形成的风险），或者，在没有上述原因的情况下，特别是当年轻的过顶运动员的肩部区域形成血栓时，应考虑静脉胸廓出口综合征，也称为劳损性血栓。当第一根肋骨，或偶尔出现额外的肋骨，在血管从颈部区域穿过锁骨下并穿过肩膀到达手臂和手部时，会对其造成压迫，从而发生静脉胸廓出口综合征。过顶运动员——最著名的是棒球投手、垒球运动员、排球运动员、赛艇运动员和游泳运动员——特别容易因胸廓出口综合征而在肩部区域患上DVT，虽然这种情况在篮球运动员中不太常见，但肯定会发生。
治疗取决于根本原因。斯坦福医疗保健公司的血管外科主任杰森·李(Jason Lee)医生表示，他会治疗患有这些疾病的高水平运动员，治疗方法可能包括任何组合的血液稀释剂（使用时间从一个月到六个月不等）、溶栓疗法（一种基于导管的溶解血栓的手术），并且，在存在肋骨压迫的情况下，可能会进行第一根肋骨切除术以防止将来再次发作。
最重要的是，根据李的说法，通过适当的治疗，“患有这种疾病的运动员极有可能恢复到受伤前的巅峰状态，并且他们的能力不会受到限制。”– Stephania Bell
这对文班亚马的未来意味着什么？
有许多备受瞩目的运动员，包括许多篮球运动员，被诊断出患有血栓，但他们仍然拥有辉煌的职业生涯。当诊断出有血栓时，有两件事变得非常重要：首先，必须立即服用抗凝血药物，以防止更多的血栓形成，并降低血栓转移到心脏或肺部的风险。这种药物通常需要服用大约六个月，并且会限制某些活动，包括接触性运动。这就是为什么现在大家知道文班亚马将缺席本赛季剩余比赛的原因。
其次，需要尝试确定血栓的病因。就文班亚马而言，马刺队已经宣布在他的肩膀上发现了血栓。最常见的情况是血栓在小腿中形成。有时，年轻运动员可能会因重复性运动而在手臂或肩膀中形成血栓。2019年新奥尔良鹈鹕队的布兰登·英格拉姆(Brandon Ingram)就是这种情况。英格拉姆在当年三月被诊断出来，错过了本赛季剩余的比赛，并在下个赛季的揭幕战中被批准上场。马刺队乐观地认为，文班亚马将在下赛季开始前完全康复，一位球队消息人士告诉ESPN的蒂姆·麦克马洪(Tim MacMahon)。
去年三月，活塞队的奥萨尔·汤普森(Ausar Thompson)被诊断出腿部有血栓。他错过了本赛季剩余的比赛，并于去年十一月被批准复出。英格拉姆、汤普森，以及最终的文班亚马，都必须获得NBA的体能鉴定委员会的批准，该委员会由三名医生组成，他们会审查个案。– Brian Windhorst
这将如何影响文班亚马的合同和马刺队的自由球员计划？
在本赛季结束后，文班亚马在他2023年被选中后签署的新秀合同还剩下两年，价值2610万美元。而且，尽管赛季因伤报销，但他2026-27赛季价值1690万美元的球队选项预计将在10月31日前被执行。
从2026年休赛期开始，文班亚马将有资格签署一份为期五年、价值2.71亿美元的新秀续约合同，其中第一年将从2027-28赛季开始。如果文班亚马在2026-27赛季被评为MVP、DPOY或入选三个最佳阵容之一，续约合同将增加到3.26亿美元。
尽管伤病存在不确定性，但预计马刺队将在今年夏天继续围绕这位划时代的天才球星进行建设。圣安东尼奥在交易截止日前选择加速重建，签下福克斯的举动旨在帮助球队现在就争夺季后赛资格，并打开一个争夺总冠军的窗口。
“这表明他们不想浪费时间，”文班亚马在福克斯的交易后说。“我们正在前进。我认为这是我们未来建设中一个很好的步骤。”
除了文班亚马的健康状况外，休赛期的重点是与福克斯续约。福克斯从8月3日开始有资格签署一份为期四年、价值2.29亿美元的续约合同。马刺队还可能在六月份增加两个乐透签；他们自己的和亚特兰大的。目前，圣安东尼奥有3%的机会获得状元签。– Bobby Marks
这对马刺队的后卫三人组意味着什么？
人们曾预计马刺队需要决定是否让保罗担任替补，以便福克斯和斯蒂芬·卡斯尔(Stephon Castle)可以在后场首发。但马刺队不太可能做出这一举动，因为要尊重未来的名人堂成员保罗，更不用说俱乐部在他抵达圣安东尼奥之前就已经承诺他将在本赛季首发。
现在马刺队的情况是，他们需要把最好的球员放在场上，才能冲击附加赛。这意味着我们很可能会看到保罗、福克斯和卡斯尔在场上共同出战很长一段时间。事实是，马刺队目前没有太多好的解决方案，但他们已经在本赛季的大部分时间里都在打小个阵容，只有文班亚马一个大个子在场上。所以，这不一定是未知的领域。– Wright
这对马刺队的附加赛——或乐透——希望意味着什么？
以23胜29负的战绩来看，圣安东尼奥进军附加赛的现实希望已经开始破灭。马刺队不仅落后西部联盟第10名3.5场比赛，而且还需要超过太阳队，并压制住同样接近的排名第13的波特兰开拓者队。
没有文班亚马，肯定不可能实现这种反弹。相反，现在更有趣的问题可能是圣安东尼奥在乐透抽签中能达到多高的位置。如果今天赛季结束，马刺队将以第10名的身份进入乐透抽签，而亚特兰大老鹰队去年就是从这个位置跃升至第一名的。
圣安东尼奥和波特兰的战绩都是23胜，尽管马刺队比开拓者队多出三场比赛，而芝加哥公牛队以22胜33负的战绩排名第八。在乐透抽签中升至第八位将使圣安东尼奥获得状元签的机会增加一倍，还不包括老鹰队（目前排名第12位）通过马刺队完全拥有的选秀权向上移动的可能性。
选秀肯定会为圣安东尼奥提供更多可以添加到其核心阵容中的新秀，但如果乐透抽签能带来更多的好运，马刺队可能会获得另一位具有明星潜力的球员，与文班亚马和福克斯搭档。– Kevin Pelton
这对NBA的奖项竞争有何影响？
在周四之前，文班亚马是赢得年度最佳防守球员奖项的最大热门，如果他获奖，他将成为联盟历史上最年轻的获奖者。但他的受伤意味着他将无法达到参加季后赛奖项评选的65场比赛的最低要求，而取而代之的新热门人选则不太明朗。
正如佩尔顿本周指出的那样，自2006-07赛季以来，DPOY一直来自防守排名前五的球队。但本赛季防守效率排名前五的球队——雷霆队、快船队、魔术队、火箭队和凯尔特人队——之所以如此强大，是因为集体的团队努力，而不是某一位特别突出的防守球员。
现在贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson Jr.)——排名第七的灰熊队防守的领袖——有机会赢得他的第二个DPOY奖杯，而埃文·莫布里(Evan Mobley)——排名第八的骑士队防守的领袖——有机会赢得他的第一个DPOY奖杯。莫布里不像文班亚马那么年轻，但他仍然可以并列成为有史以来最年轻的DPOY获奖者。
如果杰克逊或莫布里赢得DPOY，将会获得重大的经济激励。杰克逊将有资格签署一份为期五年、价值3.45亿美元的超级顶薪合同，而莫布里在上个休赛期签署的新秀续约合同将从2.24亿美元增加到2.69亿美元。
大个子通常主导着DPOY的竞争，但在文班亚马缺席的情况下，其他潜在的候选人来自位置谱系上的较低位置。老鹰队后卫戴森·丹尼尔斯(Dyson Daniels)即将成为自1990-91赛季的阿尔文·罗伯特森(Alvin Robertson)以来第一位场均贡献3次抢断的球员。阿门·汤普森(Amen Thompson)（场均1.4次抢断和1.3次盖帽）每天晚上都在为火箭队制造混乱。卢根茨·多尔特(Luguentz Dort)承担了雷霆队最艰难的防守任务，雷霆队可能会以NBA历史上最佳的时代调整防守效率结束本赛季；他的情况很像前凯尔特人队后卫马库斯·斯马特(Marcus Smart)在2021-22赛季获奖时的情况。
这次受伤也使文班亚马失去了今年春天几乎可以确定的全NBA球队席位，以及获得第一阵容席位的合理机会。他有机会加入卢卡·东契奇(Luka Doncic)、安东尼·戴维斯(Anthony Davis)、凯文·杜兰特(Kevin Durant)、勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)、蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和里克·巴里(Rick Barry)的行列，成为NBA历史上仅有的在21岁赛季入选第一阵容的球员；现在他必须再等一年才能与这些传奇人物媲美。– Zach Kram
这对你的梦幻篮球队伍有何影响？
文班亚马显然是马刺队攻防两端的绝对核心，他以场均24.3分和11.0个篮板领先全队，并以3.8个盖帽领跑NBA。随着文班亚马的缺席，身高6英尺8英寸的杰里米·索汉(Jeremy Sochan)或25岁的流浪球员桑德罗·马穆克拉什维利(Sandro Mamukelashvili)将升至中锋位置的首位。索汉的上限更高，并且在他三年的NBA生涯中一直是各个位置上的常规首发。作为一名小个阵容的首发中锋，他有每晚获得两双的潜力，并且有希望在助攻和大约一次抢断和一次三分球方面做出积极贡献。如果被任命为首发，索汉将值得在梦幻篮球赛中被考虑作为灵活位置。
马刺队的进攻可能会更多地通过他们的后场进行，福克斯完全有能力恢复到上赛季场均获得职业生涯最高的26.6分的水平。
对马刺队来说，向前发展更多地依靠他们的年轻球员而不是老将也是有道理的，马刺队已经排名西部联盟第12位，现在更不可能晋级附加赛。
这将意味着卡斯尔和24岁的德文·瓦塞尔(Devin Vassell)在侧翼的梦幻地位有所提升，而保罗和32岁的哈里森·巴恩斯(Harrison Barnes)的地位可能会有所下降。
福克斯已经是一位有影响力的梦幻篮球球员，但瓦塞尔和卡斯尔可能会随着角色可能增加而巩固自己作为全职灵活首发球员的地位。– Andre Snellings
现在谁是DPOY的热门人选？
文班亚马是本赛季赢得DPOY的最热门人选，在受伤消息宣布之前，ESPN BET上的赔率为-2000。
现在该奖项的竞争者由杰克逊领衔，他的赔率从今天早上的+2500升至-130，莫布里的赔率从+3000升至+110，明显领先于丹尼尔斯（+1800）和多尔特（+2000）。由于文班亚马无法达到65场比赛的最低要求，因此他将不再有资格获得该奖项。
受到文班亚马受伤影响的另一个主要球员奖项是年度最佳新秀奖。文班亚马的队友卡斯尔今天以+110的赔率成为赢得该奖项的热门人选。但随着卡斯尔的使用率预计会增加，他现在是赢得该奖项的最大热门（-180）。– Snellings
点击查看原文：Victor Wembanyama out for season: Impact on Spurs, future
Victor Wembanyama out for season: Impact on Spurs, future
One by one, the San Antonio Spurs strolled into the Moody Center on Thursday afternoon for a shootaround, minutes after the Phoenix Suns left the floor.
One notable absence stood out: generational superstar Victor Wembanyama, who didn’t accompany the team to Austin, Texas, for its two-game set against the Suns and Detroit Pistons. As the team warmed up on the floor, San Antonio’s brass geared up behind the scenes to drop a bombshell announcement that Wembanyama would likely miss the rest of the 2024-25 regular season because of deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
When Wembanyama last spoke on Sunday night in San Francisco to close out NBA All-Star Weekend, he discussed wanting to “forget a little bit about basketball for 48 hours.”
Within that span, he received the diagnosis.
“[It’s] tough more than anything for all of us, knowing how much he means to our team,” point guard Chris Paul said. “But more so knowing how much he means to the game and how much he loves to play.”
The first-time All-Star was named the unanimous Rookie of the Year last season and finished as a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. He was the favorite to take home the defensive award this season, leading the league with 3.8 blocks per game.
Just last month, Wembanyama played a pair of games in his native France, and both contests sold out within 24 hours, the NBA announced, and fans from 53 countries and territories purchased tickets – a record for any NBA event.
In just his second season, Wembanyama was rising to global superstar status. On Saturday, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was asked whether he saw himself as a future face of the NBA when the current generation retires.
“No, not really,” the three-time All-Star said. “That’s what they’ve got Wemby for.”
But now Wembanyama will miss the final 30 games of the regular season. San Antonio hoped to seriously make a push for a berth in the play-in tournament, especially after trading for speedy guard De’Aaron Fox. Instead, the Spurs’ season sits in limbo with their best player out and razor-thin depth in the frontcourt.
Our NBA insiders break down the rest of what this news means for Wembanyama, the Spurs and the rest of the NBA.
What can we expect from the Spurs for the rest of the season?
The Spurs’ season is over if San Antonio’s best player is unavailable. The Spurs’ playoff drought is likely to extend to six seasons, after they had missed the postseason just four times previously since joining the NBA in 1976-77 – and never in back-to-back seasons.
Wembanyama draws so much attention that few noticed in recent weeks the shocking lack of depth for the Spurs in the frontcourt. It’s a situation that worsened when the team had to move Zach Collins in the trade for Fox. Charles Bassey served as the No. 2 center on the roster behind Wembanyama, but he suffered a sprained left MCL on Feb. 3.
The Spurs signed Bismack Biyombo to a 10-day contract for depth, and it’s likely he’ll end up with a standard contract in the coming days. The Spurs spent a good portion of the All-Star break internally studying which rotations and combinations of players would work best as they prepared for the stretch run of the season looking to make a run at a play-in spot. Obviously, those combinations heavily involved Wembanyama and new addition Fox. The Spurs rank No. 11 in the league in rebounding with Wembanyama averaging 11 per game. Expect that number to dip sharply. – Michael C. Wright
What is DVT?
A deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, is a fancy name for a blood clot that forms a blockage within a vein. There are several potential causes for these types of clots, including a genetic clotting disorder (which would be rare in an elite athlete at this level) or immobilization (for instance, when a limb is immobilized for a period of time after surgery, there can be an increased risk of clot formation), neither of which appears likely in this case. Clots can also result from direct trauma to the area (a traumatic event resulting in bleeding or swelling can elevate the risk of clot formation) or, absent the above causes and particularly when a clot forms in the shoulder area of a young overhead athlete, venous thoracic outlet syndrome, also known as effort thrombosis, should be considered. Venous thoracic outlet syndrome occurs when the first rib, or occasionally an extra rib, creates compression over the blood vessels as they exit the neck region under the clavicle (collarbone) and travel through the shoulder to the arm and hand. Overhead athletes – most notably baseball pitchers, softball players, volleyball players, rowers and swimmers – are particularly susceptible to DVTs in the shoulder area due to thoracic outlet syndrome, and while it is not as common for basketball players, it certainly can occur.
Treatment depends on the root cause. According to Dr. Jason Lee, chief of vascular surgery at Stanford Health Care, who treats high-performance athletes with these conditions, treatment can include any combination of blood thinners (for a time period ranging from one to six months), thrombolysis (a catheter-based procedure to dissolve a clot) and, in the presence of rib compression, a potential first rib resection to prevent future episodes.
Most importantly, with the appropriate treatment, according to Lee, “athletes with this condition have an extremely high likelihood of returning to full pre-injury peak performance without limitation in their abilities.” – Stephania Bell
What does this mean for Wembanyama’s future?
There have been a number of high-profile athletes, including numerous basketball players, who have been diagnosed with blood clots and were able to proceed with great careers. When a blood clot is diagnosed, two things become important: First, you must get on anticoagulant medication immediately to prevent more clotting and mitigate the risk of a clot traveling to your heart or lungs. This medication is typically needed for around six months and comes with a restriction on certain activities, including contact sports. That is why it is known today that Wembanyama will be out for the rest of the season.
Second, there is a need to try to identify the cause of the clot. In Wembanyama’s case, the Spurs have announced that the clot was discovered in his shoulder. Most often clots develop in the lower legs. Sometimes young athletes can develop a clot in their arms or shoulders as a result of repetitive motion. This was the case in 2019 for Brandon Ingram with the New Orleans Pelicans. Ingram was diagnosed that March, missed the rest of the season and was cleared to play by opening night of the following season. The Spurs are optimistic Wembanyama will make a full recovery by the beginning of next season, a team source told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
Last March, Ausar Thompson of the Pistons was diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg. He missed the rest of the season and was cleared to return to play last November. Ingram, Thompson and, eventually, Wembanyama, will have to be cleared by the NBA’s fitness-to-play panel, which is made up of three doctors who review the individual case. – Brian Windhorst
How does this affect Wembanyama’s contract and the Spurs’ free agency plans?
After this season, Wembanyama has two years and $26.1 million remaining on the rookie scale contract he signed after being drafted in 2023. And, despite the season-ending injury, his $16.9 million team option for 2026-27 is expected to get exercised before Oct. 31.
Starting in the 2026 offseason, Wembanyama will be eligible to sign a five-year, $271 million rookie extension, the first year of which would start in 2027-28. If Wembanyama is named MVP, DPOY or to one of the three All-NBA teams in 2026-27, the extension would increase to $326 million.
Despite uncertainty around the injury, look for the Spurs to continue building around their generational star this summer. San Antonio chose to accelerate its rebuild at the trade deadline, acquiring Fox in a move designed to help the franchise contend for the postseason now as well as push open a title-contending window.
“It just shows that they’re not here to waste time,” Wembanyama said after the Fox trade. “We’re moving forward. I think it’s a good step in the building of our future.”
Besides the health of Wembanyama, the focus in the offseason is signing Fox to an extension. Fox is eligible starting Aug. 3 to sign a four-year, $229 million extension. The Spurs could also add two lottery picks in June; their own and Atlanta’s. Currently, San Antonio has a 3% chance to land the top pick. – Bobby Marks
What does this mean for the Spurs’ guard trio?
There was an expectation the Spurs would have to make a decision about whether to ask Paul to come off the bench so Fox and Stephon Castle could start in the backcourt. But it was already unlikely the Spurs would make that move out of deference for Paul, a future Hall of Famer, not to mention the fact the club had already promised him before he arrived in San Antonio that he would start this season.
Now the Spurs are in a situation where they need to put their best players on the floor to make a push for the play-in tournament. That means there’s a good chance we’ll see plenty of Paul, Fox and Castle on the floor together for significant stretches. The truth is the Spurs don’t have many great answers at this point, but they’ve already spent a big part of the season playing small with Wembanyama as the only big on the floor. So, this isn’t necessarily uncharted territory. – Wright
What does this mean for the Spurs’ play-in – or lottery – hopes?
At 23-29, San Antonio’s realistic play-in hopes had already begun to fade. The Spurs are not only 3.5 games back of the 10th spot in the Western Conference but would also need to pass the Suns and hold off the Portland Trail Blazers, who are equally close in the standings in 13th.
Without Wembanyama, that kind of run surely isn’t in the cards. Instead, the more interesting question now might be how high San Antonio can get in the lottery standings. The Spurs would enter the lottery in the 10th spot if the season ended today, the same position from which the Atlanta Hawks jumped up to No. 1 last year.
San Antonio and Portland are both sitting on 23 wins, albeit with three more games remaining for the Spurs than the Blazers, while the Chicago Bulls are eighth at 22-33. Moving to eighth in the lottery would double San Antonio’s chances of landing the No. 1 pick, not counting the more remote possibility of the Hawks (currently No. 12) moving up with a pick the Spurs own outright.
The draft is sure to offer San Antonio more prospects to add to its core, but with a little more lottery luck, the Spurs might land another player with star potential to pair with Wembanyama and Fox. – Kevin Pelton
What is the impact on the NBA’s award races?
Before Thursday, Wembanyama was the overwhelming favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year, for which he would have become the youngest winner in league history. But his injury means he won’t reach the 65-game minimum to qualify for postseason awards, and the new favorite in his stead is much less clear.
As Pelton noted this week, the DPOY has come from a top-five defense every season since 2006-07. But the top five teams in defensive rating this season – the Thunder, Clippers, Magic, Rockets and Celtics – are all so strong because of a collective team effort rather than one particular standout stopper.
Now Jaren Jackson Jr. – leader of the seventh-ranked Grizzlies defense – has a chance to claim his second DPOY trophy, and Evan Mobley – leader of the eighth-ranked Cavaliers defense – has a chance to win his first. Mobley is not as young as Wembanyama, but he would still tie for the youngest DPOY winner ever.
There are significant financial incentives if Jackson or Mobley wins DPOY. Jackson would become eligible to sign a five-year, $345 million supermax, while the rookie extension Mobley signed last offseason would increase from $224 million to $269 million.
Big men typically lead the DPOY race, but other potential candidates in Wembanyama’s absence come from lower on the positional spectrum. Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is on the verge of becoming the first player since Alvin Robertson in 1990-91 to average three steals per game. Amen Thompson (1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game) is creating havoc on a nightly basis for the Rockets. And Luguentz Dort takes on the toughest defensive assignments for the Thunder, who might finish the season with the best era-adjusted defensive rating in NBA history; his case looks a lot like Marcus Smart’s when the former Celtics guard won in 2021-22.
The injury also robs Wembanyama of a near-guaranteed spot on an All-NBA team this spring and a legitimate shot at a first-team nod. He had a chance to join Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Tim Duncan and Rick Barry as the only players in NBA history to be first-teamers in their age-21 season; now he’ll have to wait another year to match those legends. – Zach Kram
How does this impact your fantasy basketball team?
Wembanyama was the clear centerpiece of the Spurs’ production at both ends of the court, leading the team with 24.3 PPG and 11.0 RPG and leading the NBA with 3.8 BPG. With Wembanyama out, either 6-foot-8 Jeremy Sochan or 25-year-old journeyman Sandro Mamukelashvili moves to the top of the center depth chart. Sochan has the higher upside, and has been a regular starter at various positions in his three-year NBA career. As a small-ball starting center, he would have nightly double-double potential with upside for positive contributions in assists and about a steal and a 3-pointer per game. If named the starter, Sochan would be worthy of fantasy hoops flex consideration.
The Spurs’ offense would presumably move more through their backcourt, with Fox fully capable of returning to the type of usage that had him average a career-best 26.6 PPG last season.
It would also make sense for the Spurs, already 12th in the Western Conference and now less likely to make a run to the play-in, to lean more on their younger players than their veterans moving forward.
This would mean boosts to the fantasy status of Castle and 24-year old Devin Vassell on the wing, and perhaps a step backward for Paul and 32-year-old Harrison Barnes.
Fox is already an impact fantasy hoops producer, but Vassell and Castle could solidify themselves as full-time flex starters with potentially increased roles. – Andre Snellings
Who’s the DPOY favorite now?
Wembanyama was the runaway favorite to win DPOY this season, listed at -2000 on ESPN BET before the injury announcement.
The field for this award is now led by Jackson, who moved from +2500 this morning to -130, and Mobley, who moved from +3000 to +110, clear favorites over Daniels (+1800) and Dort (+2000). Wembanyama will no longer be eligible for the award since he won’t meet the 65-game minimum requirement.
The other major player award impacted by Wembanyama’s injury is Rookie of the Year. Castle, Wembanyama’s teammate, entered the day as the favorite to win the award at +110. But with his expected increase in usage, Castle is now the odds-on favorite (-180). – Snellings
By NBA insiders | ESPN, via ESPN