The Boston Celtics' summer 2023 trade to acquire two-way center Kristaps Porzingis was applauded at the time, though many pundits were wary of the 7-foot-2 big man's status as a walking injury risk. Starting with his third pro season in 2017-18, the 28-year-old has missed an average of 33.7 games a year across his last seven.
He faced major health issues at the absolute worst time for Boston when he suffered a calf strain in Game 4 of the team's first-round series against the Miami Heat on April 29. It knocked him out of the rest of the Celtics' run through the Eastern Conference for five weeks. Fortunately, the team's top six was so good that they didn't even need Porzingis.
Led by All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, plus All-Defensive guards Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, the Celtics' starters were joined by sixth-man extraordinaire Al Horford, a 38-year-old former five-time All-Star, whose acumen as a long-range sniper enabled the club to maintain its "five-out," three point-shooting heavy offensive attack. Boston went 12-2 en route to the NBA Finals.
Porzingis returned to the floor for the Celtics in Game 1 of the Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, his former team. Porzingis made an instant impact off the bench (his nominal backup, Horford, started in his stead as the Latvian phenom recuperated).
In just 21 minutes, Porzingis scored 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor (2-of-4 from long range) and 2-of-2 shooting from the charity stripe, while also pulling down six boards and blocking three shots. His impact as a two-way force, especially his athletic paint presence altering shots and dissuading penetration, proved key during the club's 107-89 blowout victory.
In Game 2, the trouble started again. Porzingis looked great until he tore his medial retinaculum, which yielded a dislocated posterior tibialis tendon. He sat out Game 3 and was activated in Game 4, though he didn't actually see any action. He did, however, get to suit up for 16 semi-impactful minutes during the Celtics' Game 5 closeout win on Monday.
Per ESPN's Tim Bontemps, it turns out he was gritting his way through an ailment that is now going to cause some significant rehab this summer. The big man informed Bontemps that he will undergo surgery to treat the leg injury, and is expected to need a "few months" to recuperate.
Porzingis appreciated the risks of playing through the injury in Game 5.
"I think something could have happened, for sure, especially compensating now on the other leg now, which I just came back from," Porzingis told Bontemps. "There was definitely some added risk, but I didn't care. I was like, 'I want to give everything I can and then fix it after if I need to.'"
Ultimately, he survived and apparently did not make the ailment worse.
During the regular season, Porzingis averaged an impressive 20.1 points on .516/.375/.858 shooting splits, 7.2 rebounds, two assists, 1.9 blocks, and 0.7 swipes a night. Those numbers were massively reduced in the playoffs, as in the seven healthy games he played his minutes were slashed from 29.6 to 23.6.
Quickly after being acquired from the Washington Wizards last offseason, Porzingis inked a two-year, $60 million contract extension with an optimistic Boston squad, and will now stay rostered through his age-30 season in 2025-26. At this point, it looks like money well spent.
About the writer
Newsweek contributing writer Alex Kirschenbaum is a hoops fanatic who has managed to parlay his passion into a writing career. ... Read more
