If latest Wemby report holds NBA fans everywhere get their biggest wish

Victor Wembanyama has been listed as "probable" on San Antonio's official injury report for tomorrow night's Emirates NBA Cup Semifinal against the Thunder. The Alien has missed 12 games after playing the first 12 of the season. His return for a matchup like this is the equivalent of Thor's arrival in Avengers: Infinity War during the big battle sequence at the end.

The Spurs were 9-3 in his absence, but facing OKC will be a different animal. They have the league's best record at 24-1, and they're on a 16-game winning streak. This team may have beaten the Nuggets and Lakers without Vic, but to knock off a giant like this one, they'll need their franchise star. Luckily, it sounds like that's exactly what they'll be getting.

Wembanyama should hit the ground running

If you squeeze any bit of positivity from seeing so many injuries this early in the season, it's the experience we have with seeing these guys return. When De'Aaron Fox made his debut, he played 30 minutes and scored 24 points. The Spurs weren't shy about letting him play because they exhausted all avenues beforehand to make certain he could handle the load.

They did the same thing with Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle, so there's no reason to think the same won't be true for the Alien. You can expect him to step right back into the starting lineup and play as hard as he was before he went down.

Wembanyama was a top-five MVP candidate before the calf strain took him out for over three weeks. The 7'5" phenom is averaging 26 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and a steal per game. They've slipped on the defensive end in his absence, but with him in the lineup, this was one of the stingiest teams in the league. Expect that again as soon as he gets back.

The biggest question won't be how well they'll gel defensively from the get-go; it'll be about what style of offense they'll play. Before Vic went down, they mostly played through him, getting him the ball on the elbow and letting him create. It was effective, but the offense kicked into a different gear when he was sidelined, and Fox was running the show.

We've seen several versions of this offense have success already, but now that everyone is expected to be ready to roll, which style will win out? I have faith Mitch Johnson will figure that out. How high their ceiling goes will depend on it.