Sometimes birthdays can fall on interesting days of the week that don’t always allow for a full day of celebration. For the San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, his 20th birthday happened to fall on the same day he and his teammates are hosting the Milwaukee Bucks.
Not to say that the Spurs’ chances of celebrating a win tonight are slim, but given the seasons both teams are having and the experience of a Bucks roster that is arguably more talented than the group that won the 2021 NBA Championship, it doesn’t look like win number six for the Spurs will happen Thursday night.
The Spurs were able to celebrate Wemby this morning at shootaround by singing him Happy Birthday:
Cheers to the birthday boy! 🥳 @wemby pic.twitter.com/JwuiTUc4F9
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 4, 2024
Wembanyama and his teammates will be a little short-handed when taking on the Bucks tonight. An injury report was released in the afternoon stating that big man Zach Collins is still out due to a right ankle sprain, starting point guard Malaki Branham is doubtful also with a right ankle sprain and sharp-shooter Doug McDermott is out with a right forearm contusion (bruise).
The #Spurs will be stretched a bit thin against 24-10 Milwaukee tonight. Tre Jones will move into the starting rotation with Malaki Branham (ankle) doubtful.
Jones has played over 20 minutes in 7 of his last 8 outings — averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds. pic.twitter.com/xgphUrrRDD
— Mary Rominger (@KSATMaryRom) January 4, 2024
Tre Jones will start at the point guard position with Branham out. The Bucks have won nine of their last 11 games, including a 132-119 win over the Spurs on Dec. 19 in which the Spurs didn’t play Wembanyama due to an ankle injury. The Spurs will tip off against the Bucks at 6:30 p.m.
