Victor Wembanyama doubtful with rib injury but could return before end of regular season

While Victor Wembanyama is listed as doubtful for the San Antonio Spurs’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers Wednesday with a rib contusion, the Spurs hope he will be able to play in one of their final three regular-season games, and he could return before the end of the regular season, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported*.*

Wembanyama suffered the injury early in the second quarter of the Spurs’ win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday. He briefly returned to the game, then departed for good for the second half after logging just under 16 minutes. An X-ray taken Monday night came back negative, according to ESPN, and he appeared to be moving well in the locker room after the game.

The Spurs (60-19) have three games left in the regular season, then will have either six or seven days off before beginning their first-round playoff series. They will likely be the No. 2 seed and face the winner of next Tuesday’s first West Play-In game, though there’s still an outside chance San Antonio catches the Oklahoma City Thunder for the West’s top seed.

The 22-year-old Wembanyama, who is averaging 24.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game in leading the Spurs to a 60-win season, must play at least 20 minutes in one of the final three Spurs regular-season games to be eligible for season awards. Wembanyama would be the runaway favorite for Defensive Player of the Year and has an outside chance to win the MVP if he is eligible. He made his case for the latter in late March.

“My first one would be that defense is 50 percent of the game, and that is undervalued, so far, in the MVP race,” Wembanyama said. “I believe I’m the most impactful player defensively in the league. Second argument would be that we almost swept OKC in the season, and we dominated them three times with their real team and four times with the, you know, more rotation players. My third argument would be that offense impact is not just points.”

NBA rules stipulate that players must appear in at least 65 regular-season games to be eligible for select awards like Defensive Player of the Year and MVP, as well as the All-NBA and All-Defense teams. Players must log at least 20 minutes for the game to be counted, though they are allowed two “near-miss” exceptions where they play between 15 and 20 minutes. Wembanyama, who has played in 63 regular-season games, used up his second “near-miss” exception on Monday.

However, Wembanyama would only need to appear in one of the Spurs’ final three games to qualify for postseason awards because he participated in the NBA Cup final back in December. While the game does not count toward the Spurs’ regular-season record, players can use it to satisfy the 65-game rule requirement.