Wembanyama’s absence gives him rare chance to chase down NBA history

Now that Victor Wembanyama is back for the San Antonio Spurs, it's time for him to get down to business. First things first. During his 12-game absence, Indiana Pacers center Jay Huff managed to overtake Wembanyama in total blocks, something that cannot stand.

Wembanyama has led the NBA in blocks per game and total blocks in each of his first two seasons. If he is able to stay healthy for the rest of the season, he could quickly overtake Huff and restore sanity to the NBA. That would tie him with the late great Dikembe Mutombo, who is the only player to ever lead the league in blocks three straight seasons.

The biggest question is how many games will he be able to play this season? He can only afford to miss six of the team's remaining 57 games. That gives him very little room for error but should give him plenty of time to catch Huff.

Wembanyama’s absence gives him rare chance to chase blocks leader

Assuming Wembanyama were to play 65 games and continue to average 3.5 blocks per game, he would be on pace to deny a total of 228 shots. Compare that to Huff, who is averaging a respectable 2.5 blocks for the Pacers this season.

If Huff were to play 80 games this season, he'd be on pace to swat 200 shots. Even if Huff plays all 82 games and Wembanyama plays a few less, Wembanyama should still lead the NBA in rejections.

Of course, Wembanyama would be ineligible for Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA, so hopefully he will play enough to both qualify for those awards and still surpass Huff for blocks leader. Beyond that, the Spurs have bigger fish to fry.

Keeping Wembanyama healthy is the most important thing to ensure success this season. That might mean a reduced workload with him playing fewer minutes or sitting out the occasional game, but hopefully not too many.

The Spurs are back at full strength with Victor Wembanyama

The Silver and Black are now fully healthy for the first time this season, dating back to training camp, and now we will get a chance to see just how good this team really is. Ironically, the Spurs have one of the best records in the NBA despite having almost two separate rotations.

The team initially relied on Wembanyama and Stephon Castle to carry them. Then later on De'Aaron Fox returned, and Wemby and Castle got injured, forcing Fox and company to carry the team. It's sort of like having two Avengers teams, or X-Men Gold or X-Men Blue, if you will.

Now, we can see if all of the pieces can gel together to form the ultimate team. Judging by their resume so far, including some very impressive wins against the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, and Oklahoma City Thunder—all on the road—this team appears to be the real deal.

With Wembanyama back and ready to play, he will still be the most important player to the Spurs' success and their playoff hopes. He should also quickly regain his place atop the NBA's leaderboard.