Victor Wembanyama concussed after face-first fall in Spurs’ loss to Trail Blazers

Q: What happened to Victor Wembanyama during the playoff game?

Victor Wembanyama fell face-first to the court and was later diagnosed with a concussion.

Q: How long is Victor Wembanyama expected to be out due to his concussion?

Wembanyama must undergo at least 48 hours of inactivity and meet several benchmarks before being cleared to play, making his return for Game 3 unlikely.

Q: What are the implications of Wembanyama's injury for the Spurs?

His absence is a significant blow to the Spurs, who have relied heavily on him, especially after finishing the regular season with the second-best record.

Q: Who replaced Victor Wembanyama in the game against the Trail Blazers?

Luke Kornet replaced Wembanyama and finished the game with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) sits on the court after a hard fall during the first half in Game 2 of San Antonio’s first-round playoff series with Portland.Photograph: Eric Gay/AP (Photograph: Eric Gay/AP) San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama was placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol after tumbling face-first to the court during Tuesday night’s playoff loss to Portland. “He has a concussion. He’s in the protocol,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after San Antonio fell 106-103 to even the Western Conference first-round series at one game apiece. “We’ll take the proper and appropriate steps.” Related: LeBron James is 41. And he’s somehow still carrying his team in the playoffs Any extended absence by Wembanyama would be a massive blow to San Antonio, which finished with the league’s second-best record behind their 7ft 4in center, who won this year’s NBA defensive player of the year. Under league guidelines, a player in the concussion protocol must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery and then hit several benchmarks without symptoms before being cleared to play. A player must undergo neurological testing and receive a final clearance from a team doctor in consultation with the league’s concussion protocol director. Game 3 is Friday in Portland. It seems improbable that Wembanyama would be cleared by then, but Johnson wouldn’t speculate about his status. “The protocol is the protocol,” Johnson said. “We’ll just follow it as everyone else does and plan accordingly.” The Spurs went 12-6 during the regular season without Wembanyama. “We’ve all got to step up,” Spurs guard said. “We know what Vic brings to the table. We’ve played without him for a couple games this year. It’s going to be next man up. Everybody’s going to have to step up. That’s a huge void to fill. We can’t get bogged down by it.” Wembanyama was fouled by after he spun around the point guard in the paint. He was not able to brace himself on the fall, and his jaw hit the court with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter. Wembanyama remained on the court for about 30 seconds before sitting up for about a minute and speaking to teammate . Johnson called a timeout to check on Wembanyama, who immediately ran through the tunnel after getting to his feet. Veteran replaced Wembanyama and started the second half at center, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes. “It was scary. I saw the images. It was not good,” Trail Blazers coach said of the play where Wembanyama got hurt. “With him out, Kornet, I think he did a tremendous job. We still have to figure out how to play better when Kornet is on the court.” San Antonio are in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and beat Portland in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series behind 35 points from Wembanyama. Without him, the Spurs blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead in the playoffs for the first time since 2003, a span of 76 games. Vassell said he didn’t have a chance to talk with Wembanyama immediately after the game. “We’ll definitely check in on him. Our prayers are with him,” Vassell said. “We just want him to be good.”