'Not a Big Fan' | Why Wembanyama Tried and Ditched the Ankle Braces

SAN ANTONIO - Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is gunning for MVP, and in the last few games he's been managing a sore right ankle.

"The inflammation in my body is basically down everywhere, except for one place," Wembanyama said with a smile after a massive game in the win over Charlotte.

The ankle had kept him out of San Antonio's previous game against the Nuggets, and when he warmed up for that one he was wearing ankle braces. That's out of the ordinary for the 7-foot-4 center, and he ditched them for the Charlotte game. When asked if he liked the extra hardware, the Frenchman was direct.

"Not really, not a big fan," he said.

Wemby is also giving himself an extra layer of protection in hopes of playing tonight.

Mitch Johnson said in the pre game press conference Victor was going to do everything he could to play tonight. pic.twitter.com/Udys606315
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) March 12, 2026

It's noteworthy that Wembanyama tried the braces out, especially given that he puts so much work into making his body flexible. Sometimes he'll turn an ankle when he pushes off his foot and makes a lateral change in direction, but he's always able to bounce back with an uncommon elasticity. Asked if the braces got in the way of that, Wemby had this to say.

"Yes, and no, I think it's okay when you try to be protective, sometimes it might be okay to reduce flexibility," Wembanyama said. "Never in the offseason, but in season I think it's sometimes ok. Of course it's ok to be protective, but it's better to use the least amount of equipment possible ideally, in my opinion."

Wemby said that the inflammation in his body is down everywhere except for one place: his ankle

I asked him about the ankle braces he warmed up with Thursday and ditched today, their impact on his flexibility and how he liked them.

“Better to use the least amount of equipment” pic.twitter.com/sIcSQ5yqUo
— Tom Petrini (@RealTomPetrini) March 14, 2026

He also spoke about the importance of training his feet and ankles to remain durable.

"Super important, more in the offseason, because a big part of our job (during the year) is recovery, not necessarily progression, in terms of lifting and stuff, or strengthening," Wembanyama said.

After dropping 32 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks in the win over Charlotte, Wembanyama was up front about his desire to not just hit the 65-game minimum for postseason awards, but to win both Defensive Player of the Year and MVP. He can only miss three more games for the rest of the season to remain eligible.

"Right now in my mind is taking great care of my body cause I also want to win the MVP, and the Defensive Player of the Year," he told the Prime broadcast crew. "So I'm trying to press the gas from now until the end of the season, really take care of my treatment, take care of my sleep, take care of my routine, and show up for my team."

Wemby:

"Right now in my mind is taking great care of my body cause I also want to win the MVP, and the DPOY. So I'm trying to press the gas from now until the end of the season" pic.twitter.com/0otDre8gp1
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) March 14, 2026

It's rare nowadays to hear any player, much less a Spur, admit that they want to win these awards. Wembanyama is many things, but one thing he's not is nonchalant. He cared about bringing competition back to the All-Star Game, and succeeded in that. He said before the season that he wanted his team to be a top-6 seed in the West, and they're gunning for first.

It would be almost unprecedented for a team this young to win the title, but he wants that too.

"What's next, it's pretty straightforward: we want to win everything," Wemby said with a smile. "We got one disadvantage is that we don't got experience, but that can be an advantage too, because if we don't know if it's impossible we might do it, you know what I mean?"

On an organizational level, every decision about Wembanyama boils down to protecting his long-term health and maximizing the window that this team can compete for a title with him at the center. Sometimes that means protecting him from himself, with ankle braces or a rest day or any number of other things.

At the same time, the team knows that Wemby is special because he's a maniacal competitor who truly wants it all. As long as it doesn't bring unneccessary risk, they want to help him go for it with the ultimate goal in mind.

"In my opinion, Victor has the longest list of things that he wants to do, probably the history basketball, they all are important to me as well," Mitch Johnson said. "There's a lot that goes into that, and at times we have to make tough decisions, because on that long list there are still things that we prioritize and put at the top of the list. But that guy, I think, is going to challenge us, as long as we're all here to continue to match that desire to keep checking those things off that list."