Why Victor Wembanyama Isn’t Starting — and Why the Spurs Aren’t Rushing Him
"It's hard. He wants to play."
Published Dec. 24 2025, 12:22 p.m. ET
Victor Wembanyama isn’t starting right now, and fans are not happy about it. However, the San Antonio Spurs are doing this intentionally, even if it feels strange to see their franchise player check in as a sixth man.
The French native arrived as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, immediately turned into an All-Defense-level problem, and kept climbing. This season, he’s putting up monster production — 23.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game, according to ESPN.
Even with that production, fans are still missing him in the starting lineup.
Why is Victor Wembanyama not starting?
Wemby’s calf issue surfaced in mid-November. The Spurs initially ruled him out with left calf tightness. An MRI later revealed a left calf strain, and early reports suggested he would miss several weeks, according to CBS Sports.
He ultimately sat out 12 games before returning in mid-December. When he came back, San Antonio chose caution. The team placed Victor on a minutes restriction instead of pushing him straight back into the starting lineup.
San Antonio has kept Victor on a minutes restriction since he came back, and the easiest way to control his workload is to bring him in off the bench, pick the stretches, and avoid asking him to immediately carry starter-level minutes. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson has been pretty blunt about the big picture mindset — he’s weighing a long season and Victor’s long-term health, not just one night’s rotation.
"It'll be something that Victor and I will continue to talk through," Johnson told ESPN. "It's hard. He wants to play. He wants to start. He wants to finish. Wherever you put some minutes, that means you have less over there. We still have to think about what's best for the team, unfortunately.”
Where does Victor Wembanyama’s injury stand now?
Victor is back on the court, but the Spurs still classify him under “calf management” at times, and they haven’t wavered from the plan. According to Sports Illustrated, he plays limited minutes, checks in off the bench, and continues a controlled ramp-up rather than jumping straight back into a full workload.
The Spurs haven’t set a firm timeline for his return to the starting lineup. Internally, everything remains day-to-day. The staff wants to see how his body responds before increasing his minutes or role.
Assistant coach Mitch Johnson described it as a constant evaluation process. Victor isn’t far removed from the injury, and the team wants to stay ahead of any setbacks instead of reacting to one.
"We're not at a stage where we will be unintentional with his minutes, whether that's volume over time [or] long stints," Johnson told ESPN. "But we want to make sure we've learned or continue to learn from what has happened. That doesn't mean we have the answers. But we don't just say, 'Oh, now we're back,' or whatever. We are still learning and want to be very mindful of that."
Victor is the Spurs’ whole future, and they’ve shown they’ll protect him—sometimes aggressively. Last season, doctors discovered deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot, in his right shoulder, according to ESPN.