San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama left Wednesday night’s game against the New York Knicks after suffering an apparent leg injury.
Wembanyama jumped for an offensive rebound with Knicks center Karl Anthony-Towns and guard Jordan Clarkson and came down awkwardly after he landed on Towns’ foot and fell to the floor. The Spurs were down 102-96 with 10:32 left at the time of the injury stoppage.
Spurs teammate Stephon Castle went over to help him up. Wembanyama was slow to stand before he gingerly limped off the court to the locker room.
On the way to the tunnel, Wembanyama signaled to fans that he was all right.
Wembanyama left the game with 31 points and 13 rebounds on 10-for-12 field goals and 9-for-10 on free throws in 24 minutes.
The Spurs went on to win the game, 134-132, behind a career-high 36 points from forward Julian Champagnie, who set a Spurs franchise record with 11 made threes. De’Aaron Fox had 26 points and Keldon Johnson added 19 off the bench.
During the Spurs’ new postgame tradition, Wembanyama was back on the floor to celebrate the win with the team and their fans.
Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson told reporters after the game that he wasn’t yet able to talk to medical staff concerning Wembanyama’s update, but he was happy to see his superstar center back out on the bench and celebrating the win with his teammates.
‘I saw what everybody else saw,’ Johnson said to reporters. ‘There’s a visual there but obviously he finished the game on the bench with his teammates. So I think that made me feel good. I have no idea what to say but it was good to see him walk back out and be able to finish the game on the bench with his teammates.’
