Cam Whitmore Injury: Wizards Star Faces Alarming Health Scare Strikingly Similar to Issue That Cut Short Victor Wembanyama’s Season

Washington Wizards star Cam Whitmore will be sidelined indefinitely due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania on Tuesday, testing revealed that Whitmore has a blood clot in his shoulder. The 6-foot-6 wing has been dealing with soreness, which forced him to miss the past two games.

Whitmore's injury is similar to the one suffered by several NBA players, most notably San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama last season. The former Rookie of the Year played 46 games in 2024-25 before being shut down.

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Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was also diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis before the 2025 playoffs, before being cleared weeks later. Detroit Pistons' Ausar Thompson and Toronto Raptors' Brandon Ingram also had the same injury in their careers.

Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel. It is unclear when Washington could expect Whitmore's return, but the team shouldn't expect him to be back anytime soon.

Cam Whitmore's injury adds to the Wizards' woes

Entering Tuesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets, the Washington Wizards are at the bottom of the league with a 5-22 record. The Wizards have lost seven of their last 10 games. While Washington isn't expected to contend this season, fans have been frustrated by the dismal start and lack of consistency.

Pundits have attributed the struggles to poor roster moves and mismanagement of contracts of several stars like Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma.

This offseason, Washington acquired Cam Whitmore via a three-team trade with the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans. The Wizards had hoped that Whitmore would be a key contributor off the bench after a solid couple of seasons with the Rockets.

While the experiment is yet to yield results, Cam Whitmore is averaging 9.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game on a career-high 45.6% shooting. In Whitmore's absence, forwards Justin Champagnie, Corey Kispert and Will Riley will likely receive increased minutes.

Edited by Kim Daniel Rubinos