Spurs Lose First-Rounder For 6-8 Weeks

Talk about a roller-coaster of emotions. On Friday, it was a tremendous NBA debut for a 19-year-old rookie: 10 points, 2-of-3 from long distance and four assists, all in just 15 minutes. On Sunday, in his 2nd game, however, San Antonio Spurs first-rounder Blake Wesley suffered a torn medial collateral ligament during the second quarter. 

A league source confirms to the Express-News that Blake Wesley is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with a torn MCL he suffered in Sunday's game against Minnesota.@tnoieNDI was first to report that an MRI performed Monday revealed the MCL tear.

X-rays were negative on Sunday night.

— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) November 1, 2022

Wesley will be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks, though sports injury expert Jeff Stotts suggests it could be a tad longer, with 65 days being the average time off for this type of injury. 

The 6'4" guard injured his knee in a collision with 6'9" Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels. X-rays performed at the AT&T Center after the game were negative. Unfortunately, an MRI performed on Monday revealed the Grade 3 MCL tear. 

Wesley was the 25th pick in the first-round of this year's draft, and the team was excited after his impressive performance in his debut. 

Blake Wesley in his NBA debut:

10 pts. 🔥
4 asts. 👀
4/6 FGM 🤯
2/3 3PM 🎯
in 15 minutes...

...fell to 25th, Spurs got a steal 🤫 pic.twitter.com/Fo0VZ3flAA

— Sochan Enjoyer (@7ntry) October 29, 2022

The Spurs are off to a surprising 5-2 start to the season, though they'll now have to deal with a couple of unexpected curveballs thrown at them. Wesley's injury comes at the same time as the shocking release of Josh Primo. 

Photo: Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports