The list of injured NBA stars just keeps getting longer. On Wednesday, it was reported that Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs will be out at least a couple of weeks, while Giannis Antetokounmpo will be sidelined as well. Already, some of the NBA’s biggest stars have missed a chunk of games this season due to injury, with notable names like Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, and Tyrese Haliburton all yet to see action, in particular, due to major injuries sustained last season. With Wembanyama, Antetokounmpo, and Castle all getting injured, the number of games missed due to injury will only increase considerably.
Victor Wembanyama: Calf Strain, Out for a Few Weeks
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will be sidelined for a few weeks due to a left calf strain. The Spurs, according to Charania’s sources, are taking a conservative approach to the injury, with the big man to be reevaluated after two to three weeks.
“Obviously, we’ve seen around this league recently, the calf-tightness thing is not something you want to take lightly,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said on Monday after Wembanyama was ruled out of the Spurs game against the Sacramento Kings due to tightness in said calf. “Don’t want to push it there.”
Prior to his injury, Wembanyama has been averaging career highs in points (26.2), rebounds (12.9), and assists (4.0) while leading the league in blocks per game (3.6).
Stephon Castle: Hip Flexor Strain, Out for One to Two Weeks
Victor Wembanyama’s teammate, Stephon Castle, will also be out for at least a week or two after suffering a hip flexor strain. He sustained the injury in the first half of that Spurs-Kings outing on Monday and was held out in the second half. An MRI later revealed the extent of the injury.
“When you’re talking about muscles and soft tissue, which I know nothing about, you have to work and then see how your body responds, and then work a little bit more and see how your body responds,” said Johnson of Castle’s injury. “I would be silly to try to sit here and predict all these guys and how they’re going to respond to the different things they’ve got going on.”
Castle, like Wembanyama, has been playing superbly this season, putting up per-game averages of 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists.
Giannis Antetokounmpo: Left Groin Strain, Out for One to Two Weeks
Milwaukee Bucks superstar and one-time champ Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss one to two weeks as well as he suffered a low-grade left groin strain. While the Greek Freak is to miss a few games, Bucks coach Doc Rivers maintains it is still good news that the injury isn’t worse than it looked.
“I don’t know what grade it is, but I know it’s not a bad one, so that’s good news for us. But yet still, probably two weeks he’ll be out. And we’ll see. Hopefully less, but most likely in that area,” Rivers said of the injury update.
Antetokounmpo is off to another monstrous season, averaging 32.6 points on 63% shooting with 11.3 rebounds and 7.1 assists in his first 12 games. He has also seen an uptick in his usage rate, which is now at 36.4%. It is his highest usage since the 2022–23 season and is second in the NBA this season.
