The night began as Frost Bank Center erupted when Victor Wembanyama lifted his unanimous DPOY trophy. But it ended with the 22-year-old hitting his head hard on the floor and exiting Game 2. The San Antonio Spurs lost 106-103, but they have a bigger worry if Wemby remains fit for this series and beyond for the championship run. Fortunately, he seems to be in good spirits, as his teammate Dylan Harper shared the reaction right after the incident.
“I mean, he spun, hit his head, and I was like, ‘Ooh.’ I tried to talk to him. He was like, ‘I’m good, my head just hurt a little bit,'” said Harper to the media after Game 2. “Yeah, I was going to pray for him. I mean, he’s one of the tough guys I know, so he’s going to shake back real quick. I don’t know how he’s feeling right now. Hopefully, he’s feeling better than everyone thinks. But I mean, a lot of his sprinting, that’s a great thing. So I’m going to tip my hat to that and just kind of just stay the course with him.”
With 8:57 left in the first half, Victor Wembanyama went for a drive, but a subsequent inadvertent contact from Jrue Holiday meant Wemby came crashing down. He landed hard on his chin, which ricocheted off the hardwood. The 22-year-old Frenchman appeared to be dazed and needed about a few seconds before sitting up for less than 30 seconds while being checked on by his teammates and athletic trainer Will Sevenin. In fact, the unanimous DPOY sprinted to the locker room under his own power with Sevening and Spurs general manager Brian Wright trailing behind.
Shortly after the incident, the Spurs announced Wembanyama was out for the rest of the game. The Spurs trailed 34-32 when Wembanyama suffered the injury. The 22-year-old finished with five points and four rebounds in 12 minutes after scoring 35 points in Sunday’s 111-98 win. According to the NBA’s concussion protocol, when a player is diagnosed with a concussion, he cannot return to participating for at least 48 hours, which includes the date of diagnosis, and until after he completes the required return-to-participation process.
As things stand, Victor Wembanyama’s participation at first in the series seems to be limited. Head coach Mitch Johnson offered a similar update after the game.
Dr Jesse Morse, who frequently talks about athletes’ injuries, detailed the apparent timeline that Wemby could be out for. “Best case scenario, he only misses the rest of the game and it was just a ‘scare,’ not a full concussion. Depending on the specifics, however, if Wembanyama is confirmed to have a concussion, there is a possibility he could miss 3 to 10+ days.” 3 days means the French Phenom could miss game 3. If it’s extended to a week, then even missing Game 5 is a possibility. 10+ days indicate that if the series is extended, then the 22-year-old could be ready for a Game 7 clash.
With so many permutations and hypotheticals surrounding, Coach Johnson didn’t provide any timeline. “I just know he has a concussion, and he’s in the protocol, and we’ll obviously take the proper and appropriate steps,” Johnson said. “That protocol is the protocol, so we’ll just follow it as everyone else does and plan accordingly,” he said when asked about availability for Game 3.
Fortunately, Victor Wembanyama didn’t need to go to a hospital for further inspection, and despite the hard landing on his chin, there’s no damage to his jaw. For now, the only requirement for Wemby and the Spurs is to abide by the NBA’s concussion protocol guidelines.