Wembanyama cleared by Spurs, set for NBA return

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The San Antonio Spurs have officially cleared Victor Wembanyama for all basketball activities following his recovery from a deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in his right shoulder.

According to French outlet L’Equipe, the 21-year-old superstar received the green light from the Spurs’ medical staff on July 15, 2025, and will be with the team once the NBA season kicks off this October.

San Antonio shut down Wembanyama for the remainder of the NBA season on February 21, 2025, and has not played the last 30 games.

During that stretch, San Antonio immediately felt the absence of Wembanyama’s two-way prowess as they dropped 20 out of the 30 games including a string of four-game losing skids.

Although it was a tough decision to make for the front office after Wembanyama and the Spurs had a chance to secure a spot in the NBA Playoffs, health is always a priority for the Western Conference franchise.

Before taking a rest midway through the last NBA season, Wembanyama was having a monster outing and averaged 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

Now that the French star is back in the lineup, San Antonio once again revived their hopes of ending their playoff drought with a solid core of Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, and Stephon Castle.

The squad is also having one of their deepest benches from the last three years led by Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson, and Harrison Barnes.

San Antonio also signed additional help to Wembanyama in the paint, acquiring Luke Kornet from the Boston Celtics and Kelly Olynyk via a deal with the Washington Wizards.