10 wildly overlooked aspects of Wembanyama's historic Rookie of the Year season
By Cal Durrett
3) Wembanyama was able to stay healthy.
Given Wembanyama's size, there was significant concern about how he would hold up over an 82-game season. So far, he has proven to be fairly durable. He hasn't suffered any major injuries thus far and only missed 11 games due to the Spurs being cautious with their new franchise cornerstone.
71 games played for a 7'4 center is an accomplishment in and of itself, especially considering the injury track record of players such as Yao Ming, Manute Bol, and Gheorghe Mureșan. This doesn't necessarily mean that he won't have injuries going forward but it is an encouraging start to his career. San Antonio will probably continue to limit his minutes in future seasons, with him probably playing closer to 32 minutes per game than 35 minutes per game.
That would result in less wear and tear on his body. Moreover, with him being a two-way threat, he probably can't carry the offense and shut down the paint on defense for much more than 30 minutes on an every-other-night basis. Popovich, after all, has a long history of managing minutes and if several fewer minutes per game ensure that Wembanyama avoids a major injury, then so be it.