Wembanyama ruled out with rib injury vs 76ers

Wembanyama suffered the injury in the first half after taking an elbow from an opposing player. He returned to finish the first half but couldn't continue in the second half. The 22-year-old played 16 minutes, scoring 17 points with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 blocks. This counts as one of his two "near-miss" exemptions to the 20-minute threshold on the 65-game rule.

The injury severity remains unclear, but if it proves significant and sidelines him for the rest of the regular season, Wembanyama would fall short of eligibility requirements for major awards, including MVP. The Spurs star currently has the second-best odds to win MVP at +900, with his team sitting at the No.2 seed in the Western Conference.