San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama has been fully cleared and expects to play next season after dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder for the last few months, he told the French newspaper L’Equipe in remarks published Monday.
“I’m officially cleared to return. … I’ll finally be able to play a bit of basketball again,” Wembanyama told the French sports daily.
There was no immediate comment from the Spurs on the report. It has been expected that the team anticipated Wembanyama would be able to start this coming season, though there was no official word until now.
Wembanyama was the league’s rookie of the year two years ago, and Spurs guard Stephon Castle won that same trophy this past season. Wembanyama was the front-runner to be defensive player of the year last season when he was diagnosed with the blood clot in his right shoulder in February.
He was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists when he was shut down; the only other player in NBA history to finish a season averaging all that was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.
Wembanyama has traveled extensively in recent months and spent time last month at a Shaolin temple in Zhengzhou, China. The temple is a place that welcomes visitors who wish to study Chan meditation, Shaolin Kung Fu, traditional Chinese medicine and more.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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