Inside the Spurs, the Lakers and the 'Art' of Injury Management

SAN ANTONIO — Both Mitch Johnson and Victor Wembanyama are learning, in real time, the NBA’s tedious injury process. Johnson has lived around it for years, but only this season from the head coach’s chair. J.J. Redick has the opposite problem.

The 41-year-old is in his second season at the helm of the Los Angeles Lakers, but the "patient" whose name so often graces his injury report has played 23.

A sizable portion of the league was born after LeBron James played his first game. He's now the same age as his coach. He laughed at the idea.

"I got the most minutes in NBA history," James said in front of his temporary locker in New Orleans Tuesday evening following a 111-103 victory. "I am 41. Every back-to-back for the rest of the season is TBD. Bank it right now."

Mar 17, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James watches from the bench against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

James has played long enough to understand his own limits. An offseason sciatica brought about some of the worst pain he'd experienced up to that point; it began to set in the reality of fewer minutes and, inevitably, more absences.

Wembanyama is still working on coping with more missed time than he'd like.

“I think Victor being 21 is real," Johnson said on Tuesday. "I think this team being at the early part of the journey is real ... the success we've had ... is real."

For the first time in Wembanyama's career, the San Antonio Spurs are winning more than they're losing. After three seasons, the Frenchman has grown tired of missing out on his winning-induced dopamine fix.

But if a question exists of his health, San Antonio will play it safe.

"We want him to be healthy for years," Johnson said. "Not for trying to win the next couple of games ... there's nothing that we're willing to risk long-term or big-picture. He's too important to this league, and he deserves that.”

Johnson isn't all-knowing when it comes to Wembanyama. He isn't always in the room for treatment, nor does he have final say over whether his star is cleared on any particular day. Instead, he's part of a contingent of experts aiming to protect "the kid" from himself.

Putting his age into perspective, the coach called Wembanyama a "kid." Perhaps the 22-year-old's impish requests to play match such a description.

Hands tied, they make Johnson smile, too.

“His pitch is just always: ‘I can play. I'm ready to go. I'm good to go,’” Johnson said. “You love that mentality and competitiveness.”

Dec 31, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates in the second half against the New York Knicks at Frost Bank Center. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

While the Lakers rely on Dr. Leroy Sims to navigate player health, San Antonio calls upon Xavi Schelling, who's served in the same Director of Player Performance & Wellness role since 2021 under Gregg Popovich. Full-scale collaboration is always the lofty goal.

It's not always easy to achieve — fault on one party or another.

"There is a little bit of an art to it," Redick admitted. "There's a balance you have to have: the now vs. the future. Short term vs. long term. Those are daily conversations."

Since the NBA introduced its new collective bargaining agreement in 2023, players are required to play in 65 games during the season to remain eligible for end-of-season awards excluding rookie honors and the Sixth Man of the Year nod.

In the three years of its enforcement, James has yet to miss the threshold. Luka Dončić, meanwhile, fell short last season after missing more than a month leading up to February’s trade deadline while still with the Dallas Mavericks. Anthony Davis lived a similar reality.

Constant evaluation, rehabilitation and patience underscore the entire process.

"The medical staff ... play(s) such an integral part in keeping the team healthy," Johnson said. "Whether through player fitness, prevention of injury or, what the outer world is usually more motivated to know about, recovery from current injuries."

Dec 31, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson talks with forward Victor Wembanyama (1) in the second half against the New York Knicks at Frost Bank Center. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Wembanyama served as an outlier in San Antonio last season. His deep vein thrombosis diagnosis prevented him from gaining eligibility, but he still led the league in blocked shots. The reality didn't sit well with Wembanyama's teammates.

"It's just unfortunate," Harrison Barnes said. "(Victor) was ineligible last year for All-Defense and blocks leader, even though his statistics were still outsized for the games he played."

This season, Wembanyama has four remaining absences to remain eligible for postseason awards. It won't impact his upcoming rookie extension, but could add another year to the Frenchman's wait for a Defensive Player of the Year trophy.

Still, he's determined to trust the process.

"I know the Spurs medical staff will do their job regardless," Wembanyama said in French. "That’s what we expect from them, and they’re very good at staying objective.”

By contrast, James is out of absences, marking what will likely end his 22-year streak of making an All-NBA team. Where San Antonio feels a need to protect Wembanyama's long-term health, Los Angeles doesn't want to push its aging superstar. The Lakers prefer to think his résumé speaks for itself.

"We're hoping that he gets to the point where he can play in back-to-backs," Redick said. "This stretch, and this month, it's going to be tough to say that we hope he's available. A lot of it is how he wakes up the next morning."

On the day Wembanyama and James were set to face each other, only one got the green light from his body and the medical staff. Twenty-two-year-old Wembanyama got his druthers, and James, the quadragenarian, held true: "TBD."

For James, playing at this age is the art in itself.

"I am," he says, laughing when told he doesn't look 41. "Look at my birth certificate."