Victor Wembanyama is in danger of meeting the NBA's 65-game threshold for NBA awards, and one of his most durable teammates thinks the league should change the rules.
Thanks to knee and calf injuries, Victor Wembanyama is already in danger of missing the NBA's 65-game threshold for individual awards. The San Antonio Spurs have remained afloat in games he's missed, although he might miss out on some hardware, even as the league's best defender.
Last season, a blood clot diagnosis in his shoulder held him out for the final 29 games of the season. He still led the league in both blocks per game and total blocks, and certainly passed the eye test. Still, thanks to the 65-game limit, he did not win Defensive Player of the Year or even make the All-Defensive Team.
With the same problem looming this season, one of his teammates spoke out.
Harrison Barnes Defends Victor Wembanyama
The Spurs are one of the very best teams in the league, and Wembanyama is easily their best player. However, he seems unlikely to even make the All-NBA Team, unless he becomes the picture of absolute health in the second half of the season.
Even in limited action, the Spurs know his impact is key to their turnaround this season.
"Is it a matter of impact or is it a matter of just simply being out there for games?" asked Harrison Barnes. "You don't want a situation where guys are simply just suiting up and playing two minutes just to get by on the game count, right? But at the same time, last year, Vic led the league in blocks and didn't even play for 30-plus games. Is it about impact, or is it about games being played? And I get it, there's a balance league-wide, for guys to play, guys to be out there, and guys to contribute. But are we going to be splitting hairs with the guys at 64 games, but they're playing at this level?"
Barnes is one of the more rugged players in the league, having not missed a game since 2021. He has played in at least 70 games in 11 of his 13 full seasons, and seems on the way to doing it again this year.
If anyone should support awards based on games played, it should be him. But even Barnes thinks Wemby deserves some recognition.
"Looking at Victor's case in particular, he would be ineligible last year for All-Defense and the blocks leader because of those games, even though his statistics were still outsized for the games that he played," Barnes added.
The Spurs are winning, and at the end of the day that's all that fans and players should care about, but Wembanyama's legacy could be altered if he doesn't have some hardware.