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Victor Wembanyama to miss first match-up with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks

The titanic match-up between the rookie star and the two-time MVP will have to wait.

Jonas Panerio

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The much-anticipated match-up between two of the most unique players the NBA has ever seen will have to wait as the San Antonio Spurs' prolific rookie, Victor Wembanyama, will miss the game against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at the Fiserv Forum.

Right ankle soreness

The Spurs announced on Monday that the first overall pick of this year's NBA Draft will be sidelined due to right ankle soreness. However, the team expects the 7-foot-4 wunderkind not to miss an extended period in what has been a spectacular rookie campaign. This will only mark Wembanyama's second absence this season.

The Frenchman is coming off a 17-point, 13-rebound, four-assist, four-block outing against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. Wembanyama is averaging 19.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game for the season. However, he has posted better numbers ever since San Antonio moved him to center.

Victor has upped his numbers to 19.2 points, 15.8 rebounds, 4.2 blocks, and 3.6 assists a game in the last five outings.

Looking forward to the match-up vs. Giannis

Before he got sidelined, the rookie big man had expressed excitement for the upcoming match-up with Giannis. Wembanyama had said Giannis is one of the players he's trying to model his game after.

"He is probably one of the players I've studied the most and I love the way he's playing because he's always aggressive and he's scary for his opponents. I'm trying to take a lot of examples from him, and I'm very excited to play against the Bucks. It's going to be very, very interesting," Wembanyama said.

"I have no idea how he's doing" - Giannis on upcoming clash with Spurs' Wembanyama

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO