How Victor Wembanyama’s Concussion Reshapes Spurs–Blazers Series

The Portland Trailblazers capitalized on the reigning Defensive Player of the Year going down with a concussion on Tuesday, and that could change the Western Conference playoff series.

San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama sustained a concussion during a 106–103 loss in Game 2. A recent first-time unanimous winner of the defensive player award, Wembanyama was sorely missed by the No. 2-seeded Spurs.

Portland rallied from 14 points down after Wembanyama’s exit from the game, and the Blazers looked like a different team the rest of the way. The Blazers attacked the basket at will without the 7-foot-4 star on the court.

After all, Wembanyama averages 3.1 blocks and 9.5 defensive rebounds per game. He already had three blocks, nine total rebounds and 40 points between the Spurs’ 111–98 Game 1 win over the Blazers and the early portion of Tuesday’s game.

San Antonio beat the Blazers in two of three meetings during the regular season. Portland’s lone win on Jan. 3 came when Wembanyama was out with an ankle sprain.

Overall, the Spurs went 12–6 in the regular season without Wembanyama. Their defense suffered without him, giving up 113.7 points per 100 possessions versus 103.6 points per 100 possessions with him.

Wembanyama will miss Game 3, and he could miss more due to the nature of concussion recovery. San Antonio will need reserve center Luke Kornet to step up, which will only partially alleviate Wembanyama’s absence.

A 7-foot-1 center, Kornet averages 6.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and a block per game. Fortunately for the Spurs, Kornet is a seasoned playoff veteran from his time with the Boston Celtics, which included a championship in 2024.

Spurs 6-foot-6 rookie forward Carter Bryant suddenly becomes a much more important part of the equation for the Spurs.

“Obviously, that’s a big piece that’s going to be missing, but we’ve played games without him,” Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox told reporters on Tuesday.

​”We’ve played games without a plethora of guys,” Fox added. “You say ‘next man up mentality,’ but the entire team has to step up because he leaves a big hole in the lineup, both offensively and defensively. And obviously we don’t know how long he’s going to be out, but we’ve got to be ready to play without him.”

San Antonio has everything on the line in the process. The Spurs, who last made the playoffs in 2019, put together a championship-contending team with Wembanyama.

In addition, the Spurs had defending champion Oklahoma City’s number all season with a 4–1 series record. Falling to the Blazers in the quarterfinals would go down as a major disappointment for the Spurs’ first 60-plus win team since 2017.

“It’s the playoffs,” Spurs forward Keldon Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “Even if we didn’t play a lot without him, we’ve got to figure it out. But we have, so we just stick to what we do, honestly. We fall back on our habits. We’ll clean some things up, and we get ready for a good game in Portland.”

It will take all five players on the floor to adjust without Wembanyama. The Spurs could take on a different strategy, as head coach Mitch Johnson discussed with reporters afterward.

“We definitely have gone to it, and we’ll kind of have to sit down as a staff and really think about the game holistically,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “Can we get through a game doing that, or do we need to play somebody else?”

“So that will be the conversations we’ll have,” he added. “But I do think those guys have—throughout the year and even tonight—showed some good moments doing that.”

San Antonio drafted Wembanyama with the No. 1 pick in 2023. The Frenchman has led the league in blocks for three consecutive seasons and has made two All-Star game appearances.