San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama exited Game 2 of the first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers after being placed in the NBA's concussion protocol. He tumbled face-first to the court in the second quarter of the game.

The fall occurred with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter when Wembanyama spun around Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday and was called for a non-shooting foul. He landed chin first on the court and appeared to knock himself out, with his eyes closing briefly.

Wembanyama sat underneath the basket for several minutes before running through the tunnel toward the locker room, escorted by head athletic trainer Will Sevening. Backup center Luke Kornet substituted for him after he exited the game. Wembanyama recorded five points and four rebounds in 12 minutes before leaving.

Under the NBA concussion protocol guidelines, a player must have at least 48 hours of inactivity and recovery, meet several symptom-free benchmarks, and receive final clearance from a team doctor in consultation with the league's concussion protocol director before returning to play. Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Friday in Portland.

Wembanyama, a third-year veteran aged 22, was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year on Monday, becoming the first player to win the award unanimously. During the regular season he averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.1 blocks and one steal per game.

He became the only player in the NBA to tally over 1,500 points, 700 rebounds, 150 blocks and 50 steals in a single season. He had 43 games with at least one block and one steal and posted 50 multiblock games, including 17 outings with five or more blocks.

In Game 1 of the series, Wembanyama scored 35 points and grabbed five rebounds in a 111-98 Spurs win. San Antonio finished the regular season with the league's second-best record. The Spurs had not played in the first round of the playoffs since 2019; the Trail Blazers had not made the postseason since 2021.