Amina Smith and Phil Perry react to reports that Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis could already be dealing with an injury this offseason.
The Latvian national team will be without its biggest star at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
On Tuesday, Kristaps Porzingis confirmed the report that he will miss the FIBA World Cup due to a foot injury. The Boston Celtics' prized offseason acquisition took to social media with a statement written in his native language. You can read the translation below:
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"It is difficult, I feel very responsible to myself and the supporters of the Latvian national team, but a decision has been made that I will not play in the World Cup.
"After several weeks of recovery and a repeat MRI examination, the plantar fasciitis of my foot still prevents me from being on the field in full readiness.
"This joint decision has been made by both the national team's medical staff and coaching staff, as well as the Celtics team - with the advice and opinion that it is now necessary to continue the recovery process.
"Such a decision is not easy to make, but I promise that I will be there and support the team as much as I can.
"Our land - Latvia!"
While the injury is less than ideal, C's fans shouldn't panic -- at least, not yet. Prior to his announcement, Porzingis posted videos to his Instagram story that featured him going through shooting and on-court drills with Team Latvia. His injury doesn't appear to be serious, and it's likely he is missing the FIBA World Cup out of an abundance of caution.
If that's the case, the Celtics should be relieved by the news that Porzingis will sit out the tournament. One of their acquisitions last summer, Italian forward Danilo Gallinari, missed the entire 2022-23 campaign due to a torn ACL suffered during the FIBA World Cup.
Porzingis sitting out makes even more sense when considering his injury history. His 65 games played last season marked his highest total since 2016-17.
A healthy Porzingis should be a major difference-maker this upcoming season. The 7-foot-3 big man will bolster Boston's frontcourt while giving opposing teams another premier scorer to worry about alongside stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
