The San Antonio Spurs have been without Victor Wembanyama for 11 games, and head coach Mitch Johnson offered the most in-depth update on the star's status as possible.
The San Antonio Spurs are 9-3 without Victor Wembanyama, although as their schedule heats up with three games against the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder, it's clear that they will need their star back if they want to keep up their winning ways.
While Wembanyama is close to a return, he isn't there quite yet, as the Spurs continue to take a conservative approach with their franchise cornerstone.
"He's doing great. He's getting very, very close," said head coach Mitch Johnson. "He's getting very close again and just needs to see how he responds and reacts. And if we continue to progress, which I feel very good about, we'll hopefully see him out here soon."
Johnson has long made it clear that if it were up to him, Wembanyama would have already returned.
Even with his wish, he will readily admit that he is not on the medical staff, and he would rather defer to the folks who are qualified to make that call. It's clear that the Spurs have supreme faith in their training staff.
In the meantime, the Spurs are still exercising caution.
"At this point, it's just being disciplined on really feeling good about going back and playing an NBA game. Because whatever five-on-five that we try to replicate is not an NBA game. So I think just making sure we feel good about that. And it's not just feeling good in the moment. It's also feeling good about how it responds, reacts, the next day, recovery, and so on and so forth."
Without Wembanyama, the Spurs are still winning and have advanced to the semifinals of the NBA Cup. Of course, that hasn't made telling Wemby he can't play any easier, although he agrees that going through the correct motion remains important.
"He wants to be out there. He's always wanted to be out there. Fortunately, we have a great staff. Our medical team does a great job communicating. Everybody's on the same page. And no different than when we tell him to get back in transition defense or set a screen. He trusts the staff. We're all on the same page in open communication."
For the Spurs, having a star who is willing to trust the medical staff and their advice is a breath of fresh air, especially as the Kawhi Leonard drama remains fresh in the collective memory, even if that was seven years ago now.