Victor Wembanyama’s Scariest Opponent Wasn’t the Knicks. It Was a Blood Clot.
By Leslie Lake, Volunteer President, National Blood Clot Alliance
I’ll be honest with you: I’m a New Yorker and a lifelong Knicks fan. I have waited 53 years for this. Last night at Madison Square Garden, my team pulled off the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history — down 29 points at halftime, winning 107–106 on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left. The Knicks now lead the series 3–1. We are one win away from a championship.
But I need to tell you something about the young man standing in their way.
Victor Wembanyama had 32 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in Game 3 at the Garden, handing the Knicks their first loss in 46 days to cut the series to 2–1. He is breathtaking to watch — even when he’s breaking your heart. At 22 years old, he has already earned Western Conference Finals MVP honors and is widely regarded as one of the best players in the game.
But sixteen months ago, Victor Wembanyama wasn’t on a court. He was sidelined by an opponent that doesn’t care about wingspan, vertical leap, or athletic pedigree. On February 20, 2025, the Spurs announced that Wembanyama had been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis — a blood clot — in his right shoulder. He was done for the season.
He beat it. Millions of Americans aren’t so lucky.
VTE — venous thromboembolism, the medical term encompassing both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) — affects 900,000 Americans every year and kills up to 100,000 of them. One person dies every six minutes. It is the leading cause of preventable hospital death. It strikes athletes, young people, and seemingly healthy individuals without warning.
Research published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis found that for every 10 centimeters of additional height, VTE risk increases by roughly 27 to 45 percent — meaning Wembanyama’s extraordinary frame may itself be a risk factor. The farther blood must travel against gravity to return to the heart, the greater the risk of dangerous pooling and clot formation.
Wembanyama recovered ahead of schedule and was officially cleared to return before training camp opened last fall. His comeback has been nothing short of extraordinary. But not every blood clot story ends that way.
Chris Bosh — Hall of Famer, two-time NBA champion — had his career ended by recurrent blood clots at 31. Serena Williams, one of the greatest athletes who ever lived, nearly died from a pulmonary embolism after the birth of her daughter. She survived, but required multiple surgeries. These are not freak occurrences. They are reminders that blood clots do not discriminate.
I am a VTE survivor. I am also the Volunteer President of the National Blood Clot Alliance, the organization that has spent more than two decades fighting to make sure Americans know that blood clots are preventable, treatable — and deadly when missed. We have reached more than 210 million people through our Stop the Clot, Spread the Word® campaign. We helped pass the first state blood clot prevention laws in the country. And every day, we hear from families who lost someone who didn’t have to die.
Victor Wembanyama has a chance to make history this month. I hope my Knicks stop him. But the more remarkable story — the one the sports world keeps skipping past — is that he survived a medical emergency that kills 100,000 Americans a year and came back to play at the highest level on the biggest stage in basketball.
Know the signs — and take them seriously. For DVT: unexplained swelling, pain, tenderness, redness, or warmth in a leg or arm. For PE: sudden shortness of breath, chest pain that worsens with deep breathing, a racing heart, or coughing up blood. These symptoms can appear in anyone — a 22-year-old giant or a 45-year-old sitting on a long flight. If something feels wrong, don’t wait.
Go to stoptheclot.org. Know your risk. Because the real opponent doesn’t show up on a box score.
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Leslie Lake is Volunteer President of the National Blood Clot Alliance and a VTE survivor. NBCA is the nation’s leading nonprofit dedicated to VTE prevention, education, and awareness.
stoptheclot.org | mediainquiries@stoptheclot.org
