Is Devin Vassell Injury Prone?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonah Kubicek | Last updated Nov 24, 2024 1:17 PM ET

On Saturday, Devin Vassell missed his 13th game of the season as the San Antonio Spurs took on the Golden State Warriors. Vassell missed the first nine contests while recovering from foot surgery, then played in four games off the bench before bruising a bone in his knee, and he has sat out for the last four games.

In his brief playing time this season, the Spurs are 2-2. He has averaged 16.3 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while playing solid defense and shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. However, his missed time as of late has quickly caused some fans to label him "injury-prone" and have questioned his long-term usefulness to the organization.

When Vassell plays, he is very clearly the second-best player on the team behind Victor Wembanyama. He is a two-way force who can make tough shots from all over the floor, but in the 2022-23 season, he played in only 38 games. Last year, he appeared in 68 contests but has been shut down for most of this season, drawing some concern.

Devin Vassell's Availability

Year	#of Regular Season Games	#of Games Vassell Played	#of Games Vassell Started	Longest Streak of Missed Games
2020-21	72	61	7	6
2021-22	82	71	32	3
2022-23	82	38	32	24
2023-24	82	68	62	8
2024-25	82	4	0	9

Throughout his career, Vassell has appeared in 72 percent of the possible games the Spurs have played. The average NBA All-Star plays in roughly 65 games in an 82-game schedule, or just under 80 percent.

Vassell is certainly below where fans would like him to be, but for most of his career, he was a high-level player on a tanking or rebuilding team. Naturally, the Spurs opted not to play him in some contests to decrease their chances of winning. On top of that, Vassell is not an All-Star, so the team can be more careful with his rehab since he is not a key piece on a team with title aspirations.

As the Spurs' rebuild continues, availability will be important, especially regarding Vassell, but for now, the Spurs can take their time and allow him to recover fully. Some fans have taken to social media to air their complaints regarding his slow start to this season, but after missing the final eight games of last season, caution was to be expected.

Is Vassell injury-prone or fragile? Slightly, yes, but it shouldn't be anything worth ringing the alarm bells quite yet.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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