The Spurs beat the 76ers without their star, but Victor Wembanyama's rib contusion has cast a shadow over his MVP and DPOY bids.
It seems like every MVP favorite has hit a threshold curse, as Victor Wembanyama's MVP campaign took a turn on Monday night in the San Antonio Spurs’ 115-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Wembanyama exited the game after 15 minutes with a left rib contusion, putting his eligibility for MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in jeopardy. Wembanyama collided with 76ers forward Paul George in the second quarter, after which he subbed out. He briefly returned to the bench before asking to come out again with 44 seconds remaining in the half. Wembanyama didn’t return out of halftime and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
Now, it doesn’t mean much alarm for the Spurs, who achieved their 60th win and have secured a top two seed in the West. But for Wembanyama’s accomplishments this season, the injury could be disastrous. Wembanyama’s 15 minutes counted toward award eligibility as one of two exceptions to the 20-minute requirement – but he’s now used both. Wembanyama must play at least 20 minutes in one of San Antonio’s final three games to retain eligibility for postseason awards as the runaway DPOY favorite and a strong MVP contender. The question for the Spurs will be weighing Wembanyama’s health and viability for the playoffs against everything he’s worked towards in his campaign.
Here is the full story from Spurs Roundtable writer Nick Teague on why that answer might not be so simple.
The 22-year-old was coming off a three-game stretch of scoring at least 30 points, at least 15 rebounds, and three steals. He entered Monday’s contest leading the team in scoring (24.9), rebounds (11.6) and blocks (3.1). It remains to be seen how serious the injury is, but the clock is ticking with three games remaining for San Antonio to make a push for the top seed over the OKC Thunder and for Wemby to record 20 more minutes.