SAN ANTONIO — Like their two contests against the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs will take the court depleted against a foe in a similar predicament.
Both Joel Embiid and Paul George are out for the remainder of the Philadelphia 76ers’ season after the former was sidelined with ongoing left knee issues and the latter received injections in both his left adductor muscle and left knee.
Embiid had been dealing with a variety of issues this season, including a three-game suspension for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes and several other weeks-long health concerns. He played a career-low 19 games in 2024-25.
“I think the straightforward answer is that when you’ve got something that’s inconsistent, at some point, you’ve got to do something about it,” Embiid said of missing the remainder of the season. “We don’t know what it is. We’re looking into every option.”
As for George? He played half the season, but both his points per game and shooting percentages took a nosedive compared to marks he’s hit in the past.
For the Spurs, both De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama are ruled out. Fox underwent a procedure in Los Angeles on Tuesday to repair ligament damage in his left pinkie, while Victor Wembanyama is continuing his recovery process from deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
Wembanyama appeared in 46 games this season, averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds and a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game on 47 percent shooting from the field. He was on pace for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, a spot on 1-of-3 All-NBA squads and potentially the league’s Most Improved Player of the Year Award, but now falls short of the newly required 65-game threshold.
As far as his teammates are concerned, however, he’ll be back and better next season.
“I don’t know if he has ever been out like this,” Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said, “so I know he’s going crazy from not playing. He’s going crazy from not playing and not being with his teammates.”
