PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs said Victor Wembanyama is not available for Friday night's Game 3 against Portland in the teams' first-round playoff series while he continues to recover from a concussion.
Wembanyama — the league’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year and one of three finalists for the Most Valuable Player award — went down in the second quarter of Game 2 on Tuesday night and did not return.
Portland went on to win the game 106-103 in San Antonio. The series is tied heading into the third game.
“Victor is not playing tonight. Obviously there's a lot that goes into that, but he's doing well and progressing,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
Wembanyama had traveled to Portland with the Spurs on Thursday afternoon while continuing to complete the steps mandated by the league’s concussion protocol. Earlier, he was listed as questionable for Friday’s game.
Johnson said he was going to keep details of Wembanyama’s condition "in-house,” except to say he’s continuing to progress.
Wembanyama was putting up shots at the team’s shootaround Friday morning at the Moda Center.
Johnson said Luke Kornet would get the start against the Trail Blazers in Wembanyama’s absence. Kornet has played in 68 games this season with 25 starts, averaging 6.5 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Players must clear a series of benchmarks before being cleared for play under the concussion protocol. The results are compared to baseline neurological evaluations players take at the start of the season.
Any extended absence by Wembanyama could be a massive blow to San Antonio, which finished with the league’s second-best record behind the versatile 7-foot-4 center 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. He was also with his teammates on Wednesday evening, when they all donned cowboy hats and surprised teammate Keldon Johnson after he was announced as the league’s Sixth Man of the Year.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) drives against Portland Trail Blazers guard Jrue Holiday (5) during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series in San Antonio, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) sits on the court after a hard fall during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Portland Trail Blazers in San Antonio, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers made their delayed first pick of the NFL draft, selecting Ole Miss wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling with the top pick in the second round on Friday.
The 49ers came into the draft with the 27th overall pick in the first round but made two trades down on Thursday night to add more draft capital on the final two days of the draft. They used their first pick Friday to take Stribling 33rd overall and then traded down again with their second pick in the second round before taking Texas Tech defensive end Romello Height 70th overall.
This was the third time in the past 30 drafts that San Francisco didn’t make a first-round pick with it also happening in 2022 and ’23 after the team had traded those first-rounders to move up for quarterback Trey Lance in 2021.
Stribling spent his first two seasons in college at Washington State and the next two at Oklahoma State before joining Ole Miss last season. He had 55 catches for 811 yards and six TDs to help the Rebels reach the semifinals of the College Football Playoff
The 49ers addressed the receiver spot in free agency with deals for veterans Mike Evans and Christian Kirk, but opted to add another young receiver to build around long term along with 2024 first-round pick Ricky Pearsall.
Brandon Aiyuk was expected to fill that role after signing a four-year, $120 million extension before the 2024 season, but an injury followed by his decision to leave the team last season forced the team to go in another direction. Aiyuk is expected to be cut — or possibly traded — in the coming days or weeks.
Stribling gives the Niners another speed option outside after he ran a 4.36 40-yard dash at the scouting combine. He averaged 7.4 yards after catch and is a skilled blocker which should fit well in coach Kyle Shanahan's system.
“I’m a very versatile guy,” Stribling said. “I can do a lot of things and also block at a high level. So very excited to go out there and contribute in the pass game, but also the run game also.”
The 25-year-old Height provides a needed boost to San Francisco's pass rush that finished last in the NFL with 20 sacks last season. Height had 10 sacks last season after spending his first five years in college at Auburn, USC and Georgia Tech. He had just 6 1/2 sacks in his first five college seasons.
Height is more of a designated pass rusher and could complement last year's first-round pick Mykel Williams, who is stronger against the run and has the ability to move inside on passing downs.
The 49ers have one more pick on Friday with the 90th in the third round. San Francisco also has four fourth-round picks and one fifth-rounder on Saturday.
The Niners traded linebacker Dee Winters to Dallas on Friday for a fifth-round pick. San Francisco packaged that pick with the No. 58 pick and got picks 70 and 107 from Cleveland.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
FILE - Mississippi wide receiver De'Zhaun Stribling (35) runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, Fiel)
