Victor Wembanyama In Concussion Protocol After Scary Head Injury

The San Antonio Spurs have had a fairy-tale year as Victor Wembanyama has led them to a 62-10 record in his third year and even won the league’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. But a scary moment the French phenom faced in the playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers could put it all at risk.

With just under nine minutes left in the second quarter, the French phenom was driving into the paint and crossing up Portland’s Jrue Holiday. The two got tangled up, and Wembanyama was moving with so much force that after he tossed the ball away, he slammed his head onto the court. 

His head bounced several times, and when he stopped, his hands lay near his head, and he appeared unconscious. A few seconds later, he began writhing in pain, and when he attempted to get to his knees, he fell right back onto the court. He sat with his head between his legs, appearing to try to get his bearings, and eventually regained enough strength and balance to get up and immediately jog to the locker room.

Since it was a scary head-hitting injury, he was placed into concussion protocol, which head coach Mitch Johnson mentioned after the game.

“He has a concussion. He’s in the protocol,” We’ll take the proper and appropriate steps,” Coach Johnson said. “The protocol is the protocol. We’ll just follow it as everyone else does and plan accordingly.”

Even with Wembanyama out, the Spurs managed to control the game for much of the way and, at one point, were up by 14 points in the middle of the fourth quarter. But his absence was felt as the night wore on, mostly thanks to Scoot Henderson’s game-high 31-point performance, leading the Blazers to a 106-103 Game 2 win.

Concussion protocol means Wembanyama can’t participate in any physical activity for at least 48 hours, but it could extend beyond that, so there’s no word on if he’ll play in Game 3 on Friday.

This won’t be the first time the Spurs have played without him this season, previously going 12-6 with the French phenom benched, and Spurs guard Devin Vassell is prepared for everyone to overcompensate.

“We’ve all got to step up,” Vassell 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.”

See social media’s reaction to Wembanyama’s injury below.