LATEST UPDATE: Due to a sprained ankle, Victor Wembanyama was ruled out of Thursday’s Spurs vs. Kings game.

On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in Houston, during the first half of an NBA basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets, head coach Gregg Popovich, left, converses with Victor Wembanyama in the locker room. (David J. Phillip/AP Photo)LINKED PRESSSTORE
California’s Sacramento (AP) — Due to a sprained right ankle, rookie Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs will not play against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.

Tuesday’s San Antonio game against Houston appeared to have Wembanyama rolling his ankle in the second quarter. Less than two minutes after being replaced, he came back to the court to begin the third quarter and played virtually the whole second half.

Wembanyama will have missed seven games so far this season. In the first 62 games as a Spur, he started 56 of them.

Wembanyama is favored to win rookie of the year this season after being the first pick overall in the previous draft. He is averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and a league-high 3.4 blocked shots per game.

Since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999–2000, no player has averaged at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks in a complete season; also, no rookie in NBA history has concluded a season with those stats.