San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama was sidelined for the first time in his NBA career Friday as the Spurs ruled him out against the New Orleans Pelicans due to right hip soreness.
Wembanyama overcame the problem Thursday, scoring 21 points with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots in the Spurs’ 137-135 loss to the Atlanta Hawks — San Antonio’s 13th straight loss.
The towering French teenager played down the injury after the match, but said he considered it a “day-to-day” decision as to whether he would play or not.
“My body in general feels as good as we can expect for this many games in the season,” said Wembanyama, the No. 1 overall draft pick, who said he is still learning how to manage his fitness. during the rigors of an NBA campaign.
“Once the season started, that’s what I learned, it’s more about maintaining,” he said. “Every day we should not skip meals, we should sleep as much as possible.”
Spurs medical staff have been monitoring tightness in his hip, and coach Gregg Popovich indicated after Thursday’s game that a day off for Wembanyama could be considered.
“We’re trying to protect him,” Popovich said. “We’ll see how his hip came out of this one.”
In 18 games, Wembanyama averaged 19.3 points and 9.7 rebounds, the most among all rookies. His average of 2.7 blocks per game leads the league.
