SAN ANTONIO — An MRI on Thursday showed that San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama did not suffer any ligament damage to the left knee he hyperextended the previous night in a win over the New York Knicks, league sources told ESPN.
Wembanyama didn’t travel with the Spurs to Indianapolis for Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers because team officials want him to take advantage of the treatment options available at Victory Capital Performance Center, sources said. He’s officially listed as out for the Pacers matchup.
Sources told ESPN that he will be listed as questionable for Saturday’s home game against the Portland Trail Blazers and is considered day-to-day as he deals with left knee soreness.
Wembanyama suffered the injury with 10:32 remaining against the Knicks as he struggled to secure a rebound under the basket with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson. Upon landing on the floor, Wembanyama immediately grabbed at his left knee. Teammate Stephon Castle stepped in to help Wembanyama back to his feet, and the center was able to hobble to the locker room under his own power.
As he left the floor, he yelled to fans in attendance at Frost Bank Center, “I’ll be all right.” He then returned to the bench with 1:22 left to play wearing team warmups and slides instead of sneakers. He finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes.
“It was just a hyperextension, so it should be minimal,” Wembanyama said after the game. “I was confident. I was this close to coming back in the game. [They] had to hold me back.”
Wembanyama sat out 12 games earlier this season due to a left calf strain. The third-year center returned to the Spurs lineup Dec. 13 during the semifinal round of the NBA Cup against the Oklahoma City Thunder and came off the bench in his first six games back from the injury before making his first start Dec. 27 in a 127-114 loss to the Utah Jazz.
Wembanyama currently leads San Antonio in scoring (24.0 points per game), rebounding (11.6) and blocks (3.0).
