Michael C. WrightApr 21, 2026, 09:13 PM ET
- Joined ESPN in 2010
- Previously covered Bears for ESPN.com
- Played college football at West Texas A&M
SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs star Victor Wembanyama took a hard fall in the second quarter of Tuesday night's first-round playoff game against the Portland Trail Blazers and was ruled out after being placed in the concussion protocol.
Wembanyama's spill came as he was driving to the basket with 8:57 left in the second quarter and Jrue Holiday defending. He landed chin first on the court and appeared to knock himself out, with his eyes closing briefly.
The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama sat underneath the basket for several minutes as the team called a timeout and "Wemby" chants from the crowd filled Frost Bank Center. He eventually popped up and ran through the tunnel toward the locker room, with head athletic trainer Will Sevening following.
Holiday was whistled for a non-shooting foul on the play, and the Spurs subbed in backup center Luke Kornet for Wembanyama.
A little more than 15 minutes later, Sevening returned to the Spurs bench while Wembanyama remained in the locker room. The Spurs ruled him out, saying he was in the concussion protocol.
Wembanyama had five points and four rebounds in 12 minutes before exiting.
How much time he could miss going forward now will be the chief question for the Spurs.
Under the league's concussion protocol guidelines, a player must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery and then must hit several benchmarks while being symptom-free before he can be cleared to play. After undergoing neurological testing, a player must receive a final clearance from a team doctor in consultation with the league's concussion protocol director.
Game 3 is Friday in Portland.
A third-year veteran, the 22-year-old became the youngest NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Monday and the first player to win the award unanimously. He averaged a career-high 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.1 blocks and a steal during the regular season, becoming the only player in the NBA to tally 1,500-plus points, 700-plus rebounds, 150-plus blocks and 50-plus steals.
Wembanyama produced 43 games with a block and a steal, and posted 50 multiblock games, which included 17 outings with five blocks or more.
In Game 1 of the series, a 111-98 Spurs win Sunday, he had 35 points and five rebounds.
