Wembanyama will travel with Spurs to Portland, Game 3 status still uncertain

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama will travel with the San Antonio Spurs to Portland for games this weekend, even while continuing to complete the steps mandated by the league’s concussion protocol.

That said, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson stopped short Thursday of saying Wembanyama will play. Wembanyama is “progressing,” Johnson said, but his status for Game 3 of the matchup remains uncertain.

Wembanyama — the league’s first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and one of three finalists for the Most Valuable Player award — suffered the concussion in the Spurs’ Game 2 loss to Portland on Tuesday night, leaving the game in the second quarter.

Game 3 of the series — tied at a game apiece — is Friday in Portland, followed by Game 4 there on Sunday. The Spurs were flying to Portland on Thursday afternoon.

There are very specific steps that players have to clear before being removed from the league’s concussion protocol. Players begin the return-to-play process with light exertion — such as riding a stationary bike, jogging, agility work and non-contact basketball drills — and each step is followed by another neurological examination.

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

Any extended absence by Wembanyama would be a massive blow to San Antonio, which finished with the league’s second-best record behind the versatile seven-foot-four centre from France. They were 12-6 in the regular season without Wembanyama.

Wembanyama averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and a league-best 3.1 blocks per game this season.