Victor Wembanyama was cruising through his second season — up his scoring average, dramatically improving his shooting percentages and establishing himself as the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year. But a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder ended his season in February and put the San Antonio Spurs on a very different trajectory.
They went 13-23 after he went out of the lineup, and the focus quickly shifted from fighting for a Play-In spot to developing the young players on the roster and preparing for his return for the 2025-26 season — a return that was projected but not guaranteed given his condition.
Today, Spurs fans got the health update they'd been hoping for — Wemby is officially back.
🚨BREAKING VIA @lequipe.
— Maxime Aubin (@MaximeAubin1) July 14, 2025
Victor Wembanyama has announced he’s officially recovered from the blood clot in his shoulder :
“I'm officially cleared to return. It just happened — I got the green light from the Spurs' medical staff just a few hours ago (last Friday). Phew, I’ll…
His return locks in a rotation that looks considerably stronger than next year and ready to really battle for the playoffs.
Spurs projected lineup with Victor Wembanyama healthy
POSITION | STARTER | BENCH |
|---|---|---|
PG | De'Aaron Fox | Dylan Harper |
SG | Stephon Castle | Keldon Johnson |
SF | Devin Vassell | Jeremy Sochan |
PF | Harrison Barnes | Kelly Olynyk |
C | Victor Wembanyama | Luke Kornet |
There are some familiar faces but some key new ones as well. Fox is entrenched as the starting point guard, and he and Wemby will be looking to build synergy from scratch — they played just 120 minutes together last season after Fox was traded to San Antonio and before Wemby went down. Vassell and Barnes are holdovers, strong position defenders and excellent outside shooters with the ability to exploit a mismatch or attack a lazy closeout.
Castle is now the defending Rookie of the Year, and he benefited from plenty of opportunities in Wemby's extended absence down the stretch of last season, averaging 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, shooting 45.6 percent from the field across March and April.
The bench features talented holdovers Keldon Johnson and Jeremy Sochan, as well as frontcourt reinforcements Luke Kornet and Kelly Olynyk, who both acquired this offseason. Olynyk, in particular, gives this bench unit a very different look with his post-scoring and floor-spacing ability. Finally, the Spurs will feature rookie point guard Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft. We've barely gotten to see him in NBA Summer League because of a groin injury, but he has terrific size, and the skill level to contribute right away.
They also have Carter Bryant, the No. 14 pick in this year's draft — a hyper-athletic forward who has been incredibly impressive in Summer League with his defensive playmaking.
This is a team with the talent and depth to compete right away, and the youth to keep getting better with Wemby's development not the only factor driving them forward.
Wemby is back, and the Spurs are scary.