The Boston Celtics announced earlier this week that Kristaps Porzingis would need surgery for a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon suffered in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Celtics president Brad Stevens later revealed Porzingis would likely miss the start of the 2024-25 season due to this ankle injury. Sure enough, the latest injury update says the big man will miss 5-6 months after undergoing surgery, meaning there's a chance he's not on the court again until 2025.
While Porzingis is now an NBA champion after Boston dispatched the Dallas Mavericks in five games, this is yet another unfortunate injury setback in a career full of them. The 28-year-old has never played more than 72 games in an NBA season and played in just 57 games in this past regular season before missing most of the playoffs. He got injured in the first round against the Miami Heat and returned for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, only to get hurt again in Game 2, though the silver lining was he was able to get on the court in the clinching Game 5.
What this means for Celtics
Kristaps Porzingis was a game-changer for the Celtics this past season, averaging 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 blocks in the regular-season games he did play. His impact was evident in Game 1 of the Finals when he scored 20 points, grabbed six boards and blocked three shots off the bench in a dominant victory.
However, Boston is obviously used to playing and winning without Porzingis. The Celtics coasted through the playoffs despite him missing most of the championship run, thanks to their overall talent level and the presence of veteran Al Horford. Given this surgery, it's even more important that Horford confirmed he'll be returning for a chance at a repeat.
Of course, Horford just turned 38 years old and is nearing the end of the line. While still effective, Boston doesn't want to rely on him too much throughout the course of the regular season, so there needs to be some big-man depth in place. Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman are both free agents, and perhaps one or both of them will be back. The Celtics could also look elsewhere for a cheap center to bring in. The roster is already very expensive, so there's not a whole lot of flexibility there, but Brad Stevens is an excellent executive who surely has a plan in place to bolster the roster even with limited means.
Boston will still enter next season as the championship favorite despite this Kristaps Porzingis injury, but his situation will be one to monitor moving forward. And if there are real long-term concerns, could the Celtics even look to move on from him at some point in the near future? It's something that should be considered given his injury history.
For now, Boston will continue to celebrate banner No. 18 and Porzingis will do the same while rehabbing his ankle.
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