When Giants Clot: Victor Wembanyama, the COVID Shot Timeline, and What the NBA Won't Ask
A 21-year-old phenom doesn't spontaneously develop deep vein thrombosis. The league calls it isolated. The pattern says otherwise.
By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH
Many watching the NBA finals have forgotten that San Antonio Spur Victor Wembanyama was sidelined with a blood clot last year. I find it odd the announcers and analysts never mention it.
🩸 The Wembanyama Paradox: A Generational Talent, A Blood Clot, and the Unasked Questions
🏀 The Rise Before the Fall
Victor Wembanyama arrived in the NBA as something the league hadn’t seen before — a 7-foot-4 alien with the handles of a guard, the wingspan of a condor, and the defensive instincts of a veteran ten years his senior. By February 2025, the 21-year-old French phenom was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.8 blocks per game. He’d just made his first All-Star appearance. The Spurs, after years in the wilderness, were relevant again.
Then came February 20, 2025.
The Spurs announced Wembanyama had been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in his right shoulder. He was done for the season. Just like that, 46 games into his sophomore campaign, the most exciting young player in basketball was sidelined by a blood clot — a condition typically associated with sedentary seniors on long-haul flights, patients with chemotherapy ports, or pacemakers, not elite 21-year-old athletes at peak physical condition.
