San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama returned for Game 4 against the Portland Trail Blazers after being placed in concussion protocol. Wembanyama stated he was "very disappointed" with how the situation was handled but did not provide further details.
He sustained the injury in the first half of Game 2 and traveled to Portland to complete clearance steps for Game 4. Wembanyama scored 27 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and had seven blocks in Sunday's 114-93 win. The team announced his clearance about an hour before tip-off.
Wembanyama, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 blocks during the regular season. Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson indicated the team was prepared to play without him if he hadn't been cleared.
Players diagnosed with a concussion must pass a series of benchmarks, compared to baseline neurological evaluations, before being cleared to play.