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The Washington Wizards announced that forward Cam Whitmore will be out indefinitely after being diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis. Whitmore had missed the last six games, and the last two was specifically due to right shoulder soreness, and after further evaluation it was determined that he had DVT.
DVT can cause blood clots in the veins of the arms or legs, and has become more commonplace for NBA players to be dealing with it. Last season, Damian Lillard missed time after a blood clot was discovered in his calf. Similarly, Victor Wembanyama’s season was cut short last season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder from DVT. He missed the last 29 games of the season.
It’s an unfortunate blow for Whitmore, who was averaging 10.4 points on 47% from the floor in the last 11 games. While a timeline for his return is unknown, there is precedent for players returning with no issues after being diagnosed with DVT. Wembanyama is a great example of that. Detroit Pistons forward Ausar Thompson, missed the last month of his rookie season and the first month of last season with DVT, but has had no issues this season while averaging a career high on the East leading Pistons.
Treating DVT is dependent on the location of the blood clot, but ensuring it’s taken care of is crucial. If untreated, the blood clot can potentially travel to the lungs and cause pulmonary embolism, which can be life threatening.
Given the timeline of previous players who have dealt with this, Whitmore may miss a significant amount of time while this is taken care of. It’s a tough situation for Whitmore in his first season with the Wizards after being traded by the Rockets this past summer. For the Wizards, they lose some wing depth in their rotation, though given they have the worst record in the league at 5-22, the focus is surely more on Whitmore’s long-term health than any wins and losses that occur this season.