Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis is excited for the new NBA season, but the Latvian will have to wait a few months to play after undergoing ankle surgery over the summer.
Kristaps Porzingis Recovering From Surgery
Kristaps Porzingis played a crucial role in Boston’s NBA Championship last year but he was plagued with an injury that kept the big man out of action during some important postseason games.
Porzingis missed almost the entirety of the playoffs last season, playing only in the first round against the Miami Heat before aggravating his ankle injury.
After missing out on the Conference semifinals and the Conference finals last year, Porzingis was able to make a shock return in the Finals against the Mavericks – playing in three final games of Boston’s successful campaign.
As soon as the season ended Porzingis took the difficult decision to undergo surgery to repair a tendon in his left ankle and he provided a positive update on the recovery process this week.
“The expectation [on a return] is sometime in December, but I’m feeling really good and I’m working towards hopefully playing earlier than that.”
good morning Boston )) Its good to be back! pic.twitter.com/QCNJ6PD5H5
— Kristaps Porzingis (@kporzee) September 23, 2024
“I got the surgery done right after the parade. And then it was three or four weeks or so at home, hanging out,” Porzingis said.
“Then I was able to start to do more in August, and now at the end of September I’ve already been doing a good amount of stuff and feeling good. Looking forward to keep making progress at this rate and hopefully be out there with the guys as soon as possible.”
Last season Porzingis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game over 57 matches in a championship winning season for the Celtics.
While Porzingis remains sidelined for the beginning of the campaign this year, Al Horford and Luke Kornet will take over as the starting big man in Boston’s title defense which gets going in October.
