Spurs' Victor Wembanyama set to play, while Lakers' LeBron James rests

Sport

Spurs' Victor Wembanyama set to play, while Lakers' LeBron James rests

2026-01-08 10:08 Last Updated At：10:10

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama was set to play Wednesday night, while Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been ruled out.

Both were listed as questionable on the second night of back-to-back games.

Wembanyama had 30 points Tuesday night in a 106-105 loss at Memphis after missing two games because of left knee soreness.

James also had a 30-point night Tuesday, helping the Lakers to a 111-103 victory in New Orleans. James was listed as questionable with left foot join arthritis and right sciatica.

The Lakers are were without Rui Hachimura (strained right calf) and Austin Reaves (strained left calf).

Wembanyama insisted he was fine after hyperextending his left knee Dec. 31 against the New York Knicks, but would defer to the Spurs’ medical staff.

The 7-foot-4 center demonstrated his health during warmups Tuesday by leaping and executing a front kick with his right leg that hit the net and dislodged three basketballs.

San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson did not know about Wembanyama’s action until seeing video after the game. He was grateful he did not see it live.

“He was fine, so I was OK,” Johnson said, chuckling. “If I saw it in real time, I may feel differently. But, yeah, he does things that are just unique. I’ve learned to not tell him what not (to do) and what to do. I just to try to help (remind) him maybe sometimes of when and how or what the rippling effect could be. But I don’t have any experience of kicking anything, so I can’t speak on that.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

The Latest: Trump launches a new effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

U.S. forces on Monday launched an effort to guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, where hundreds have been stuck since the Iran war began.

Two American-flagged merchant ships have “successfully transited” through the critical waterway, the U.S. military said. Separately, the U.S. military denied Iran’s claims that it struck an American Navy vessel southeast of the strait.

Iran handed over its latest proposal for negotiations with the U.S. to mediators in Pakistan, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday. Trump subsequently said he’s “not satisfied” with it, but did not elaborate on the proposal’s apparent shortcomings. The shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has lasted for three weeks.

Here's the latest:

The U.S. stock market is holding tentatively near its record heights Monday, while oil prices climb with uncertainty about when oil tankers can resume crossing the Strait of Hormuz and restore the world’s flow of crude. Dueling claims about a possible Iranian strike on a U.S. Navy vessel in the strait heightened the tensions.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 216 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 2% to $110.37 and briefly topped $114 during the morning. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to its war with the United States has kept oil tankers pent up in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide. That in turn has sent the price of Brent soaring from roughly $70 per barrel before the war.

▶ Read more

Rubio will travel to Rome and Vatican City this week in a bid to ease rising tensions between the Trump administration and Pope Leo over U.S. policies, particularly with Iran.

The State Department said Monday that Rubio, a devout Catholic who’s visited Rome and the Vatican at least three times since becoming Trump’s top diplomat, would be in Italy on Thursday and Friday.

“Secretary Rubio will meet with Holy See leadership to discuss the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere” the department said. “Meetings with Italian counterparts will be focused on shared security interests and strategic alignment.”

The trip comes as Trump has criticized Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, for his stances on the Middle East and elsewhere and posting social media images likening Trump to Jesus Christ.

The disruption of the waterway has squeezed countries in Europe and Asia that depend on Persian Gulf oil and gas, raising prices far beyond the region.

Trump has promised to bring down gas prices as he faces midterm elections this year.

The U.S. has warned shipping companies they could face sanctions for paying Iran for transit of the strait. It has enacted a naval blockade on Iranian ports since April 13, telling 49 commercial ships to turn back, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. The blockade has deprived Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

U.S. officials have expressed hope the blockade forces Iran back to the negotiation table.

The U.S. military said Monday that two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz and Navy guided-missile destroyers in the Persian Gulf were helping to restore shipping traffic. It separately denied Iran’s claims to have struck an American Navy vessel.

The announcement came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new initiative to help guide ships through the critical waterway for global energy. Iran has effectively closed the strait since the U.S. and Israel started the war Feb. 28, rattling the global economy.

The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center has advised ships to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it set up an “enhanced security area.” U.S. Central Command didn’t say when the Navy ships arrived or when the merchant vessels departed.

It was unclear whether shipping companies, and their insurers, will feel comfortable taking the risk given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so.

▶ Read more