The Boston Celtics announced big man Kristaps Porzingis will pursue surgery this offseason repair his injured right foot. Porzingis missed two games of the 2024 NBA Finals as a result of the ailment, suffered in Game 2 of the series.
It was previously reported that Porzingis expected to go under the knife this summer. He tore his retinaculum, a tissue that sits on the top of the foot and ankle, dislocating the posterior tibialis tendon as a result. The retinaculum sort of works like a seatbelt that holds a series of tendons and ligaments in that part of the body in place, and the Celtics medical team was able to use athletic tape and braces to recreate that dynamic for Game 5 of the series. But as Boston stated in a press release on Tuesday, surgery was always the most likely long-term solution to the injury.
Because of international competition this summer, however, a timeline was originally up in the air. That has been settled, according to the team.
Boston said Porzingis was hoping to delay surgery until after this summer's Olympic qualifying rounds. Porzingis' home nation of Latvia is still bidding for a trip to Paris for the 2024 games this summer.
The press release said Porzingis found his injury "doesn't allow for consistent play at the level required for Olympic competition," and as a result decided to pursue surgery sooner.
The Celtics reported " surgery will be performed in the coming days." At the time of this writing, there is no timetable for Porzingis' return.
It's hard to say whether or not Porzingis would be ready in that time. This is a very rare injury, after all. Preseason doesn't begin until October, when the Celtics travel to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates to face the Denver Nuggets for an exhibition game.
Porzingis played in 57 games this season for the Celtics, often splitting off days with veteran Al Horford on back-to-back sets.
In the postseason, however, Porzingis was only available for 7 games. He suffered a strained soleus in his left leg during the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat, missing the next two series entirely.
Porzingis joined the Celtics in the 2023 offseason, signing an extension shortly after arriving. He spent the year openly talking about how singularly focused he was on winning a title, and his willingness to sacrifice to do so.
Across the board, Porzingis delivered on that promise. The injuries are a bad bit of luck, but he and the Celtics still managed to close out the year on top.
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