Though the NBA returned to action after the All-Star break with one game Wednesday and a nearly full slate of action Thursday, the league’s focus was elsewhere after the stunning news that

The announcement sent shockwaves through the league, given Wembanyama’s status after following a brilliant Rookie of the Year season with an even better sophomore campaign. He appeared in his first All-Star Game over the weekend and was the leading contender for Defensive Player of the Year honors, a shoo-in to make an All-NBA team and, potentially, garnering some Most Valuable Player consideration.

All of that, though, moves to the background, as the focus shifts to his immediate and long-term health. So, with The Association back in action, we’ll look at the leaguewide reaction to the Wembanyama news, plus examine several lessons from the pre-All-Star break portion of the schedule in our weekly trip around the NBA.

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Bontemps:

“No, not really,”

That’s the ascension Wembanyama has enjoyed over the past two years; less than two months after his 21st birthday, he’s seen as the heir apparent to

And that led to the universal shock from sources I spoke to around the NBA in the wake of Thursday’s news that Wembanyama will be out for the season due to the blood clotting issue in his right shoulder.

Brandon Ingram

Brian Windhorst tries to look at some of the positives after the news broke that Victor Wembanyama has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Windhorst:

The trade for Fox, though largely seen as a positive development, was destabilizing for a franchise not known for midseason moves. And there was the trip to Paris, which was thrilling for the large traveling party there to support Wembanyama, but also emotionally taxing. “This has been one, long crazy season,” one team source said.

Bontemps:

For scouts and executives I talked to, once the shock of the news passed, the thought shifted to whether this could be a repeat of what happened to San Antonio during the 1996-97 season, when David Robinson’s back injury created the pathway to the franchise landing No. 1 pick Tim Duncan.

Imagine if this leads to the Spurs getting another No. 1 pick and the right to pair Wembanyama with a prospect such as Cooper Flagg. That could be the basis of a team competing for championships well into the 2030s.

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Windhorst:

Instead, they made two significant trades, acquiring guard

That doesn’t sound like a rich team being limited by the new rules.

Bontemps:

The 2025 NBA trade deadline is in the books. Here’s what you need to know after a wild week, including the latest superstar deals, plus last-minute buzz and intel across the NBA.

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Windhorst:

There are three second-apron teams:

There are four first-apron teams: the

Bontemps:

There’s also a line that an executive has repeated to me the past few months: “Motivated teams will find a way to get things done.”

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Bontemps:

“A lot of times, successful teams have been older ones,” the exec said. “I think it’s harder now to go out and create a team of older players without having chemistry and continuity. I don’t know if that model is going to work anymore.”

Windhorst:

The two oldest teams in the league going into the season were the Phoenix Suns and

Bontemps:

“It’s impacted the density of the schedule across the board,” the East executive said. “So, it makes sense some of these younger teams are fresher.”

Draymond Green explains why he thinks the league is not as exciting due to it being less physical.

Windhorst:

“They say in the NBA you win with men, not with boys, and there’s a lot of truth to that when you look over the history of the league,” one veteran coach said. “But it’s hard to win with a lot of old men because even if they’re great, they get hurt.”

Windhorst:

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The Celtics have nine players averaging at least 17 minutes, though

These are all teams in the top four of the conference standings. Young and deep. It helps teams win a lot of regular-season games.

“With the style of the games and the pace of play the league, has never been more physically demanding,” one general manager said. “It wears guys down and out.”

Bontemps:

“I think there’s always been proof depth can win you a lot of games over the 82,” an East scout said. “I don’t think we can know if that will lead to wins in playoff games until the spring.”

Multiple scouts and executives pointed to Memphis — which, as Brian pointed out, has a uniquely egalitarian approach to minutes — as an example of whether this new paradigm could work.

Bontemps:

But after the Nuggets and Celtics won titles the past two seasons playing with above-average positional size, and the Cavaliers and Thunder have the league’s two best records with rosters that feature two 7-footers among their five best players, we have seen that formula be turned on its head.

“It’s a copycat league,” one executive said. “You see Cleveland playing two bigs and having success, and other teams are going to try to copy that model.

“Things have shifted big-time.”

We also have seen a depression in offense across the league. Despite all of the noise about 3-pointers, the average offensive rating is down from last season, and several sources pointed to officiating changes enacted around this time last year having an impact.

It’s a good reminder that any time we think things are shifting, the league swings in another direction. The goal for teams is to figure out the next inefficiency before anyone else.

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Bontemps:

The

But now Fox, too, can get a bigger extension this summer by being on the Spurs.

Shams Charania joins “NBA Today” to detail Brandon Ingram’s new three-year, $120 million contract extension with the Toronto Raptors.

The biggest example of this, though, was Toronto landing

Windhorst:

They traded

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This year, the Raptors gave Ingram a three-year, $120 million deal — including a player option — after the deadline trade.

“I don’t think Ingram gets that deal if he’d have hit free agency, especially the player option, but it depends on how he would’ve finished the season in New Orleans [had he not been traded],” another league executive said. “They obviously really like him and think he’s a good fit, but they bid against themselves on that deal — and they bid against themselves on Quickley.”

Bontemps:

“I thought Ingram was too expensive,” one executive said, “but it made sense with the restrictions.”