Tonight’s game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Denver Nuggets was supposed to be a marquee matchup. The two Western Conference contenders are fighting for playoff positioning, with the Spurs looking to close in on the #1 seed. However, things are already looking dire for the Spurs, with superstar center Victor Wembanyama reportedly not playing tonight. Here’s what happened to him.

According to the team, Wembanyama has been ruled out of tonight’s game due to right ankle soreness. The young star was already ruled questionable yesterday, with his status remaining a question mark until earlier today. It was also revealed that Wembanyama was a “true 50/50” to play today after shootaround, according to NBA reporter Matthew Tynan, and that he would be a true game-time decision.

Without him, the team is looking to rely upon their plethora of reserve bigs: Luke Kornet, Kelly Olynyk, Bismack Biyombo and Mason Plumlee.

However, the more important point to be noted here is the implication upon Wembanyama’s award chances. According to the NBA’s rule for post-season awards, players need to play at least 65 games to be eligible for nomination. Wembanyama has dealt with various injuries over the season, and after tonight’s miss, has only a three-game buffer left to remain eligible for All-NBA teams and other awards.

This isn’t the first time that the 65-game rule has gotten in the way of Wembanyama potentially winning some individual awards. Back in his second season, despite leading the league in blocks and being clearly the best defender in the league, he was denied the award since he only played 46 games.

Now, with the buffer only thinning, Wembanyama doesn’t have much more of a margin for error when it comes to missing games.

Inside the Specifics of Victor Wembanyama’s Injury vs Denver Tonight

According to Tynan, the shootaround that Victor Wembanyama took part in earlier today was light, with very little up-and-down court time, though he was present when the practice was open to the media. His status before the game remained in the air, only becoming available a few minutes before tipoff.

With Wemby missing the game, this is his first absence since two consecutive games missed due to left calf soreness back in Januray, and has just 3 games left in the team’s 16 remaining games. This comes in the middle of a promising season for the Frenchman, who is averaging 24.2 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game, and it seems like he’s making progress.

“I’m adapting to what the defense gives me,” Wembanyama said after the team’s win against the Boston Celtics. “I think that’s something that defines me. It’s something I don’t want to lose, ever. Someday, the goal is to be kind of unguardable.”

The Nuggets, the Spurs’ opponents tonight, are entering San Antonio on the second night of a back-to-back within Texas, blowing out the Houston Rockets yesterday night. At the half, despite having a huge advantage in terms of superstar availability, Denver is down 69-53.

Only time will tell if San Antonio can pull out this win, and hopefully extend their winning streak to seven.