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Victor Wembanyama’s Injury Throws the DPOY Race Into Disarray

Stephen Douglas

Victor Wembanyama blocks Jaren Jackson Jr. during a Spurs - Grizzlies game.
Victor Wembanyama blocks Jaren Jackson Jr. during a Spurs - Grizzlies game. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images
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Victor Wembanyama has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. While the shocking news is disappointing to both the San Antonio Spurs and fans around the leauge, the team is optimistic that Wemby will return for the start of next season.

While he may only miss a few months of basketball, he will miss enough time that he will no longer be eligible for postseason awards.

Wemby entered the year as the odds-on favorite and had only widened his lead going into the second half of the year. With Anthony Davis missing an extended period and becoming ineligible, Wemby was a huge favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year as of this morning.

With Wemby out Jaren Jackson Jr. is now the favorite with Evan Mobley right behind him.

Wembanyama is averaging 3.8 blocks per game which is 1.4 more blocks per game than Walker Kessler who is second in the league. He's also averaging 1.1 steals and 9.2 defensive rebounds a game.

If Wemby can make a full recovery and stay healthy, this could be the last chance Jackson, Mobley or anyone else has of winning the award for quite a while.

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Stephen Douglas
STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in media since 2008 and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Douglas spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and previously wrote for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.

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