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Boston Celtics

It’s officially a report-off with Kristaps Porzingis and his injury

By Ty Anderson
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 28: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Washington Wizards celebrates against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Capital One Arena on November 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Wednesday came with some somewhat alarming news — by early August standards, anyway — with the word that new Celtic addition Kristaps Porzingis was dealing with a foot injury.

The word, which came from Rupert Fabig, was that the lingering injury would be enough for Porzingis to potentially miss all of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Fabig summed it up as Porzingis and the Celtics leaving a potential decision to sit out the tournament “until the last minute,” which isn’t exactly the best sign in regards to what exactly is or was going on. And given what the Celtics went through with Danilo Gallinari last year, and with Porzingis being twice the player Gallinari is in terms of importance to the future success of the Celtics, it was enough to get the ol’ panic alarms ringing.

But Thursday came with a silencing of those alarms, with the Latvian Basketball Association by all means shooting down that report and any potential injury situation regarding the 7-foot-3 big.

  • Per their own Twitter account (and with a little help from the ‘translate’ button), the Latvian Basketball Association outright denied that Porzingis’s availability for the tournament was in doubt, and added that they would announce their lineup on Aug. 12.

    That Aug. 12 date now becomes a bit more interesting for all of Boston, with that being the true test as to whether or not Porzingis is actually at 100 percent. If that lineup announcement comes without Porzingis, then the idea of a foot injury limiting him seems a bit more legit than the LBA wants to say in the now.

  • And though there was no comment from Porzingis himself, the 28-year-old seemingly decided to tell the world he was fine in his own way, with an on-court training video posted to his personal Instagram.

    Summertime IG workout videos can be a waste of time, of course, but a vow of silence is probably more effective if there’s anything indeed wrong. It would probably be the Celtics’ preference if they felt or thought that the injury was anything even close to a potential issue when it came to his availability for their training camp, too.

    In other words, feel free to exhale for now.

  • CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 07: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Washington Wizards shoots a free throw against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center on December 07, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

    CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – DECEMBER 07: Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the Washington Wizards shoots a free throw against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center on December 07, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

    Acquired from the Wizards in a three-team deal that saw Marcus Smart shipped out of town, Porzingis is coming to Boston on the heels of a career-year in Washington, with a career-high in both points per game (23.2 points per game) and field goal percentage (49.8 percent).

    Porzingis also shot 38.5 percent from beyond the arc this past season, which was his second-best single season average (trailing only a 39.5 percent mark with the Knicks in 2017-18), and averaged 8.4 rebounds per game (his fourth-best single-season average and his fourth season of at least eight boards per game). His 2.7 assists per game were his second-best single-season average, too.

    The Latvian big man was also one of just three players to average at least 20 points, eight rebounds, and one block during the 2022-23 season, joining the Lakers’ Anthony Davis and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid on that list.

  • The 2023 FIBA World Cup is set to get underway later this month, running from Aug. 25 through Sept. 10, while Celtics training camp is expected to fire up training camp on Oct. 3.

    From there, the Celtics will kick off a five-game preseason slate beginning Oct. 8 and running through Oct. 19.

Click here for 98.5 The Sports Hub’s complete coverage of the Celtics. 

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.

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