Wemby to travel with Spurs while in protocol

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama will travel with the Spurs to Oregon for games this weekend against the Trail Blazers, even while continuing to complete the steps mandated by the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson on Thursday stopped short of saying Wembanyama will play in Game 3 against the Trail Blazers on Friday at the Moda Center, instead saying that the star center is “progressing” and that the team hasn’t ruled him out.

“He looks good,” Johnson said. “The update is that he is following each protocol, he’s progressing, and he’ll travel with the team.”

The series is tied 1-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Portland.

“To my knowledge, we haven’t even had that discussion [about ruling Wembanyama out],” Johnson said. “The protocol is the protocol. The league is who’s mostly at the top of that. We’ll just hope that he continues to progress. Whenever that timing is, that’s when it will be.

“We’ll just kind of keep going through the protocol, and hopefully he continues to progress. It’s pretty straightforward. So obviously we hope he’ll be back at some point. But we’ll allow the protocol to play out. There’s nothing more important than his health.”

Under the NBA’s concussion protocol guidelines, a player cannot return to full participation for 48 hours after the time of the injury but can resume gradual activity after 24 hours as long as symptoms don’t worsen. Then the player must hit several benchmarks while being symptom-free before he is cleared to play. He will then require clearance from the team doctor in consultation with the league protocol director.

Wembanyama’s results will also be compared with his baseline neurological evaluation — which players undergo ahead of each season — before doctors permit him to move forward in the return-to-play plan.

Wembanyama took part in some cardiovascular activity late Wednesday, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, as the Frenchman’s symptoms hadn’t worsened.

He suffered the concussion on a drive to the basket with 8:57 remaining in the second quarter of Game 2, with Jrue Holiday defending. Wembanyama landed chin first on the court and appeared to knock himself out.

Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant and Harrison Barnes immediately rushed over to check on Wembanyama, along with Stephon Castle.

Wembanyama sat underneath the basket for several minutes as the Spurs called a timeout. The 7-foot-4 player eventually rose and ran through the tunnel toward the locker room, with head athletic trainer Will Sevening following.

Wembanyama scored five points with four rebounds before exiting Game 2. He left Frost Bank Center before the conclusion of the game, according to a team spokesperson.

A third-year veteran, the 22-year-old became the youngest to win the Defensive Player of the Year award on Monday and the first to win it unanimously. Wembanyama averaged a career-high 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 3.1 blocks and a steal per game during the regular season.

Wembanyama also produced 43 games with a block and a steal and had 50 multiblock games, which included 17 outings with five or more blocks.

He poured in 35 points and grabbed five rebounds in Sunday’s decisive Game 1 victory.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.