Victor Wembanyama didn't play much in his return from a sore right ankle in Thursday night's loss to the Chicago Bulls. The star rookie played in only 22 minutes, scoring a career-low seven points and grabbing five rebounds at the United Center.

“No, he's fine. He's fine. He has a minute limitation so we have to abide by that but, no, he was fine,” San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich answered when asked if Wemby's ankle was bothering him.

Wembanyama played in just 22 minutes against the Bulls, causing many to ponder the question of if he was feeling effects from his minor ankle injury. After missing Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Wemby made sure to echo Popovich's response regarding his ankle.

“It felt okay. No pain at any moment,” the French phenom echoed.

Wembanyama's subpar performance

The five rebounds for Wembanyama in the Spurs' 114-95 loss to the Bulls is tied for his second-worst output in that category. This past summer's top overall pick recorded just three boards in 27 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this season. The Spurs lost that game 124-99. Wemby also notched five rebounds in the season opener against the Dallas Mavericks and in his third game of the season against the Clippers.

“Any game is tough to sit out, but we think long term, we've got to be smart,” Wembanyama said regarding his return to action after missing Tuesday's contest against the Bucks.

Much like his low rebounding output, Wemby's 22 minutes came close to the career-low 21 minutes he logged in a 152-111 rout against the Pacers in early November.

“Little bit of both. Most importantly, it's my first season, [it's] my body adapting to this. We think about the long term,” the 19-year-old generational prospect responded when asked about if limited minutes were imposed out of precaution.

It should be noted that Wemby's three blocks on Thursday matched his season average.

Wemby's record streak broken

Before losing to the Bulls, the Spurs' leading scorer had run off eight straight double-doubles, breaking Dwight Howard's mark by a single game for the longest double-double streak in NBA history by a teenager. Wembanyama's eight-game stretch started with 22 points and 11 rebounds in a losing effort against the Denver Nuggets and reigning Finals MVP Nikola Jokic. A 17-point, 13-rebound performance on Sunday versus Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans marks the end of his 10-game double-double.

Wembanyama had just eight field goal attempts on Thursday night, the fewest of his career.

“My ankle is fine. I don't feel it at all. I think there's some games, I'm not trying to force anything, trying to make my teammates play. I could sacrifice all my shots, and take zero shots if it was for the best of our team,” Wemby insisted, his five assists in limited time underscoring his comments.

Previously, Wembanyama's career-low in shot attempts came in the aforementioned first game of the season. The 7'3″ star played only 23 minutes that night as a result of foul trouble, and he took only nine shots from the field, connecting on six of them. Three of his made shots in this game came from the perimeter, as he recorded 15 total points against Dallas.

For the month of December, Wembanyama is now averaging 16.4 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 3.6 blocks in 30.6 minutes per game. Look for Wemby to get closer to those numbers when the Spurs get another shot at the Mavs on Saturday night.