The San Antonio Spurs decided to give Victor Wembanyama some much-needed rest on Sunday as he didn’t suit up against the Denver Nuggets for the regular-season finale. The Nuggets won that matchup, 128-118.
Wembanyama was put on rest because of his left ribcage soreness.
But something cautious and sensible quickly drew a lot of flak from the NBA world, and one NBA analyst speculated on what the loss may have just cost San Antonio come May.
Nick Wright Calls Spurs’ Decision to Rest Victor Wembanyama a Catastrophic Mistake
Nick Wright on First Things First was among the first ones to call this decision to sit out Wembanyama a big mistake.
He came swinging right at it, saying, “I think this is a borderline catastrophe for the Spurs and I think them not playing Wemby was a catastrophic mistake.”
“I think this is a borderline catastrophe for the Spurs and I think them not playing Wemby was a catastrophic mistake.”@getnickwright believes the Spurs’ loss to the Nuggets was a HUGE error: pic.twitter.com/Ce8Hxk4RWv
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) April 13, 2026
The Spurs did have every reason to win Sunday’s game against Denver. That victory would have pushed Denver to the fourth seed, ending any chance of a second-round playoff matchup between the two teams.
Instead, the Nuggets won and locked up the third seed, meaning San Antonio may have to go through Nikola Jokic to reach the conference finals.
And we all know what that means.
The Nuggets are a strong force. The Spurs themselves haven’t been able to tackle them, having gone 0-3 against Denver since February.
Without Wembanyama and backup center Luke Kornet, San Antonio had no interior presence. The Denver bench pushed all the damage down their throat, with the Spurs having absolutely no chance to answer.
Wembanyama watched this detonation from the bench in street clothes at the Frost Bank Center.
Wembanyama collided with Paul George during last Monday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers. He picked up a rib contusion, making him sit out Wednesday’s game against Portland.
But he came back Friday, dropped a 40-point performance in 26 minutes against Dallas (his 65th appearance of the season), and casually walked out.
He won, cleared his threshold for postseason awards eligibility; life was good. Sitting out Sunday, however, was not a great decision, but it is what Mitch Johnson decided.
“He’s doing well but just a little sore and felt it was the appropriate decision,” the coach said before tip-off.
We can now expect Wembanyama to come back to practice on Tuesday. Game 1 is on April 19, so he will get his much-needed rest.
As per Johnson, Wembanyama is the “strongest, the best in shape he’s been in since I’ve been around.”
The season performances, the bangers, and his averages all back it up. He averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, and a league-best 3.1 blocks per game.
