Fortunately, no major harm! Wembanyama's ribs show no structural damage; renowned reporter believes he will definitely meet award eligibility criteria.

On April 8 Beijing time, according to renowned reporter Shams, the Spurs do not believe Wembanyama has suffered a serious injury. Wembanyama underwent an X-ray on his rib area last night, and the results showed no structural damage. He will undergo further examinations later today, but the team currently holds hope and maintains an optimistic attitude, expecting the follow-up results to align with last night's—the injury is anticipated to be not severe.He is listed as doubtful for tomorrow's game against the Trail Blazers, but external expectations suggest he will play at least one of the final three games.

Thus, at least for Wembanyama and the Spurs, they can breathe a little easier. The Spurs' current goal is not the regular season; they are pursuing something more significant. So, before Wembanyama returns, what considerations are the Spurs weighing?

Renowned reporter McMahon stated: "Honestly, Wembanyama values various individual awards greatly; this is an important objective for him and the team. He only needs to play one more game with at least 20 minutes of participation to meet the award eligibility criteria. If he ultimately fails to achieve this, I would be very surprised. He will fulfill the minimum requirement of 65 regular-season games. Moreover, the team currently has some buffer because he played in the NBA Cup final, which counts toward the game tally. However, returning to this injury, it leans more toward a day-to-day observation type. Fortunately, I believe the team won't force him to play through injury, but he will definitely meet the threshold for award eligibility."

As McMahon mentioned, Wembanyama needs to play at least 20 minutes in any one of the Spurs' final three games to qualify for the major annual awards. The Spurs' remaining regular-season schedule includes home games against the Trail Blazers, the Mavericks, and the Nuggets.

Previously, American media indicated that if he meets the participation criteria, Wembanyama almost certainly locks in the Defensive Player of the Year award, while also likely becoming a final candidate for MVP and a strong contender for the NBA All-First Team.

In ESPN's earlier media MVP straw poll, Alexander is the super favorite to repeat as MVP, receiving 88 out of 100 first-place votes with a total score of 958 points. Wembanyama recently expressed multiple times that he has MVP competitiveness; in this poll, he ranked second, receiving 8 first-place votes with a total score of 644 points. Jokic ranked third, with 500 points.