Kristaps Porzingis and the Boston Celtics are still in party mode after claiming the franchise's 18th banner following a five-game series victory in the 2024 NBA Finals against his former team, the Dallas Mavericks. But Porzingis will soon be going under the knife to repair a lower-body injury he suffered during the Mavs series, as announced by Boston via its official X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) account on Tuesday.
“Kristaps Porzingis suffered a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Surgery will be performed in the coming days and further updates will be provided when available.”
Porzingis played in just three games in the NBA Finals. He was sidelined with the said injury in Game 3. Although he was not ruled out of Game 4, Porzingis did not see the court during a blowout loss to Luka Doncic and company. In the Celtics' title-clinching victory in Game 5, the Latvian star scored five points and grabbed a rebound in 16 minutes of action. Those weren't big numbers, but Boston didn't need huge numbers from him to score a 106-88 victory against Dallas. If anything, Porzingis was a plus-8 in the championship-clincher, proving even in limited time that he offers so much value to the Celtics when he's on the floor and regardless if he's getting touches or not.
However, Celtics fans will always remember the boost Porzingis gave Boston in Game 1 of the finals. Coming off the bench in Game 1 — his first game back from a calf injury that forced him to miss the entire second round versus the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference finals against the Indiana Pacers. In that contest, Porzngis came off the bench and fired 11 points in the first quarter alone. He finished the game with 20 points on 8/13 shooting from the field, including two 3-pointers, six rebounds, and three blocks in just 21 minutes.
In only seven games played in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Porzingis averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 boards, 1.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from behind the arc. The Celtics signed Porzingis to a two-year, $60 million extension in 2023 after acquiring him via a trade with the Washington Wizards.
Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis is also a no-go for the Olympics qualifiers
The injury and surgery will also impact Porzingis's availability for his country in the Olympic qualifiers. Even if Latvia earns a ticket to the Summer Olympics, Porzingis won't be able to fly with the team to Paris, the Celtics confirmed as well.
“Porzingis had hoped to delay surgery until after both the NBA Finals and Latvia's Olympic campaign, but the injury doesn't allow for consistent play at the level required for Olympic competition,” the Celtics said in a statement (h/t Reuters).
The Celtics are going to need Porzingis healthy if they are to have success again in the next season where everyone in the league has a target on Boston's back. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday are all going to be the core again of Boston along with Porzingis, who brings so much to the table for the Celtics, thanks to his rare combination of size, length, great rim protection, and ability to stretch the floor.
While there is no timetable provided yet for Porzingis' return to normal basketball activities once he's done with surgery, he will have months to recover before the 2024-25 NBA season begins in October.
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