The San Antonio Spurs are happy to have star Victor Wembanyama back after missing 12 games with a calf strain. That means the Spurs are back at full strength, though it could cost Wembanyama some hardware.
He can only miss five games and still win Defensive Player of the Year or make All-NBA thanks to the NBA's 65-games-played rule. The NBA meant well when they first introduced the 65-game minimum rule, meant to incentivize the league's top players to play.
The problem is that with calf strains on the rise, teams can't afford to rush their top players back or risk them suffering a catastrophic season-ending injury.