As great as 2024-25 was, injuries prevented the season from reaching its full potential. A plethora of star players suffered season-ending injuries, with Victor Wembanyama’s case being one of the most heart breaking. A blood clot in his right shoulder forced him to the sidelines following the 2025 All-Star Game. Neither the San Antonio Spurs nor Wembanyama have since revealed how the blood clot came to be. NBA insider Brian Windhorst, however, has a hunch.
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Wembanyama’s sophomore season saw him soar to even greater heights than a 7-foot-3 player could typically reach. He increased his statistical production across the board with averages of 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. At one point, he was the runaway favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Unfortunately, Wemby’s storybook season didn’t have a storybook ending. After just 46 games, the San Antonio Spurs medical staff diagnosed him with a blood clot, also known as Paget-Schroetter syndrome. The Frenchman required surgery to resolve the ailment. Fortunately, he seems to be on the path to recovery and rehabilitation.
All signs point to Wembanyama being ready for the start of the 2025-26 season, which is great news, but he will not be suiting up for the France national team in the 2025 EuroBasket.
“As far as the French go, no Victor Wembanyama, even though he’s been cleared for basketball activities coming off the blood clot he had in spring,” Windhorst said on The Hoop Collective.
Wembanyama, meanwhile, has remained silent regarding his injury despite having quite a busy offseason. In June, Wemby trained at the Shaoilin Temple in Dengfeng, China. He has even sought private lessons with NBA legend Kevin Garnett.
Although his body is ready for physical activity, he has yet to address all the details surrounding the blood clot that prevented his growth to begin with. As a result, Windhorst has become beyond curious to learn more.
“I am looking forward to Victor having a media session when the season starts and if he chooses to answer,” Windhorst.
Wemby may be just 21 years old, but he is incredibly intelligent. His decision to remain quiet regarding that specific topic could be for a good reason, for all we know. In the meantime, Windhorst and others can only hypothesize what the cause could be. The NBA insider looks to Brandon Ingram’s situation for the answer.
“Without trying to be a doctor, sometimes players who are slightly built like Ingram and Wembanyama, there’s something with their ribs that, potentially with repetitive motion with shooting, can cause a clot in their shoulder area,” Windhorst explained.
Ingram suffered an eerily similar injury in 2019. In March of the 2018-19 season, he received a diagnosis for a blood clot in his right arm. He would miss the rest of the season, but return for the start of the 2019-20 season. That very year he became and All-Star and hasn’t had any issues involving blood clots since.
“Brandon Ingram has had a very successful career on a brand new contract,” Windhorst said. “The outlook is very good, but [Wembanyama] wasn’t ready to go for the French.”
Assuming Wembanyama recovers, as Ingram was able to, he’ll be just fine. Adding Wembanyama back to the mix with a full season alongside De’Aaron Fox and now the second overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, Dylan Harper, sets the stage for the Spurs to be an extremely interesting team.
