Victor Wembanyama’s 2025 blood clot scare didn’t just interrupt his season. It forced a reset.
The San Antonio Spurs star has already established himself as one of the league’s best players over the past three years, but the biggest health issue he has faced wasn’t the kind many expected. Instead of the lower-body injuries people often worry about with a player his size, Wembanyama dealt with blood clots in early 2025, a problem serious enough to bring his 2024-25 campaign to an early end.
Wembanyama said the experience changed the way he sees everything, from his personal life to his career. He described it as a moment that made him grow up fast and become more open about who he is. That shift, according to the source, played a major role in the Spurs’ run to the NBA Finals last season.
He’s also carrying himself differently now. Wembanyama is more emotional, more vocal with his team, and less interested in holding things in. The people around him have noticed that change, too.
"The condition I had in early 2025, the thrombosis, had a huge impact on this. After that it’s like, life’s so short, I don’t even want to waste it being somebody else. Simple as that," Wembanyama said on 60 Minutes about how his blood clots changed how he looked at life.
That mindset hasn’t stayed off the court. The source says his emotions now show up in his game as well, and that added expression has helped him perform at a higher level, including in the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
For Wembanyama, the lesson from that scare is clear: keep improving, keep managing his emotions, and keep moving toward becoming the best human and athlete he can be.
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For San Antonio, the timing added a bit of extra color to a night that came with some momentum after a recent winning streak. Wembanyamas third Halloween-themed NBA arrival was less about the game itself than the personality around it, the kind of detail that makes a young star feel larger than the box score before the opening tip. [Read more 🡒]
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While Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox have helped keep San Antonio moving in the right direction, the Spurs are still managing the health side of the ledger carefully. Head coach Mitch Johnson said the team is taking a methodical, patient approach with Harris as he works back from a calf strain, a reminder that the early part of the season is about more than just the standings for a team trying to build something sustainable.
Wembanyama is still producing at a career-best scoring pace even while dealing with shooting struggles, and Fox continues to look like a steadying force at point guard after turning in a strong all-around line with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Stephon Castle also showed his toughness by playing through a migraine in a recent game, which speaks to the competitive edge inside the locker room, but the Spurs know the bigger picture depends on keeping the rotation intact and getting everyone back to full strength at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Harper Is Answering The Spurs' Biggest Offensive Question
Dylan Harpers latest home performance gave the Spurs another reminder of how much their young backcourt can change the shape of a game. In the win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Harper posted a season-high 25 points, hitting 9 of 17 shots and knocking down two threes, a useful sign for a team trying to stretch its offense beyond the paint and create more room for DeAaron Fox and Stephon Castle to operate.
What makes Harpers night more than a one-off scoring burst is the way his long-range touch has started to trend in the right direction over several games. For San Antonio, that development matters because the guard trios ceiling depends on whether all three can punish defenses from deep, turning the Spurs from a team with promising pieces into one with a much harder-to-guard offense. [Read more 🡒]