Damian Lillard has no timeline to return to the Milwaukee Bucks after being in his right calf.
The blood-clotting disorder also for the San Antonio Spurs and a decade ago contributed to . NFL, and Major League Baseball players have also stepped away from their respective sport for some period of time because of it.
What is deep vein thrombosis?
Deep vein thrombosis is an abnormal clot within a vessel where the congealing of blood blocks the flow through on the way back to the heart. It is most common in legs but also can happen in the arms, like Wembanyama鈥檚 right shoulder.
Any number of things can cause deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, ranging from immobility and trauma to family history and dehydration. Symptoms include inexplicable swelling and discoloration or pain, or some combination of those factors, and experts say the worry is the clot traveling through the blood stream causing a pulmonary embolism or death.
鈥淚f you have a blood clot in a vein and a piece dislodges, it just goes with the flow where the blood is going and it ends up in the lung,鈥� said Mary Cushman, a hematologist and professor of medicine at the University of Vermont. 鈥淲hen you have a DVT in the leg or the arm, there鈥檚 a chance that it will break free, and when it breaks free, it can end up lodged in the lung. And if it鈥檚 large enough, that can kill a person.鈥�
Lillard missed multiple games in December and has also been listed on the injury report with right hamstring and right groin soreness, though there's no way of saying if that caused the clot or vice-versa.
No matter the cause, it is diagnosed through ultrasound testing, in which a probe presses against the skin like imaging of a baby inside a pregnant woman.
鈥淲hen you take that probe and press on a vein, you can see the vein like a black area and when you press on it, it will compress,鈥� Cushman said. 鈥淲hen the vein is full of a blood clot, you can鈥檛 compress. ... You鈥檙e looking for veins that won鈥檛 compress because they鈥檙e full of clots.鈥�
What is the treatment?
Lillard is taking blood thinners, which is the most common course of action. Cushman points out that an on-court (or on-field or on-ice) injury that draws blood would make competing while on anticoagulants more of a risk for athletes.
鈥淭hat does then make certain activities a bit more dangerous," said Julie Partridge, a professor of sport and exercise psychology at Southern Illinois University and the vice chair of the board of directors for the National Blood Clot Alliance. "Obviously, a contact sport like basketball is going to be probably contraindicated, which we saw in Chris Bosh when he had to because he couldn鈥檛 come off of those anticoagulants.鈥�
Sometimes surgery is involved or blood thinners for the long term. That is why Cushman called the decision for athletes to take time off 鈥� and how long they might be out 鈥� 鈥渞eally an individualized decision.鈥�
鈥淵ou have to determine a care plan that鈥檚 best for that person, so that鈥檚 going to relate to the circumstances where they had their clot and the risk level they鈥檙e willing to accept,鈥� Cushman said.
Are athletes more likely to have it?
There are plenty of notable cases.
Even beyond Lillard, Wembanyama and Bosh, missed the end of last NBA season because of a blood clot. In the NHL, was out four months from late 2023 into 2024, and Vancouver forward Brock Boeser missed Game 7 of a playoff series last spring.
Colorado pitcher Scott Oberg to remove blood clots in his throwing elbow in 2021, and Arizona's Merrill Kelly had thrombosis in his right calf two years later. had a blood clot scare last summer, not long after center Billy Price retired at age 29 because of complications.
Stephan Moll, professor of medicine in the division of hematology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, said there is no evidence to suggest elite, professional athletes are more predisposed to blood clots than those of comparable ages in the general population. Cushman said the risk for people in their 20s and 30s of developing deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism is 1 in 10,000.
Some of the life of sports could play a role in blood clots occurring.
鈥淐lots are always multifactorial,鈥� Moll said, cautioning against height being too much of a risk factor. 鈥淢aybe if there鈥檚 multiple travels such as one after the other 鈥� a flight first and then a bus ride and then a game with some dehydration and some maybe more not major trauma 鈥� maybe it just adds up to thrombotic risk.鈥�
Partridge, who had her own blood clots and DVT discovered and treated in 2019, said female athletes are at higher risk if they are on hormonal birth control, get pregnant or undergo hormone replacement therapy.
One likely reason they come to light more often with elite athletes is the amount of trainers, doctors and medical staff around to provide care.
鈥淚 do think there鈥檚 a certain amount of, anytime you have certainly professional athletes, there鈥檚 a lot of investment in them,鈥� Partridge said, 鈥渟o having access to medical care is obviously going to be beneficial.鈥�
Moll also believes there is more talk about blood clots among medical professionals to be conscious of possible concerns.
鈥淧eople are more aware of DVT, I think, therefore they think about it earlier and they diagnose it earlier,鈥� Moll said. "But I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 more common than it used to be.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
