The Washington Wizards will be without a young star.
Cam Whitmore was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder and is out indefinitely, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Tuesday.
Whitmore, 21, has not played since Dec. 4 with shoulder soreness. Now, doctors have determined that was due to upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis.
The Wizards acquired Whitmore, the 20th-overall pick in the 2023 draft, from the Houston Rockets in the off-season for two second-round picks.
He has seen increased opportunity in his new threads, playing a career-high 18.7 minutes per game while scoring 12.3 points and adding 3.8 rebounds per contest.
Now, however, the Odenton, Md., native will have to sit.
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama missed the second half of last season with deep vein thrombosis but returned with full strength this season.
Such cases have affected NBA players before, including Hall of Famer Chris Bosh — whose career was cut short after he was diagnosed with blood clots while playing with Miami. Brandon Ingram, now with the Toronto Raptors, had his 2018-19 season end early because of deep vein thrombosis when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Detroit's Ausar Thompson had a clot issue that saw him miss the end of the 2023-24 season.
— with files from AP.
4:09