The Boston Celtics announced Tuesday that Kristaps Porzingis will be undergoing surgery to repair the leg injury he sustained in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
Porzingis’ specific injuries are a torn retinaculum (stabilizing tissue in upper foot/ankle area) and dislocated posterior tibialis (lower leg muscle in ankle area), which are considered rare. According to the Celtics, the particular injuries “always” requires surgical repair.
Porzingis had originally tried to delay surgery until after both the NBA Finals and Latvia’s Olympic basketball campaign had concluded. He was able to stick it out until the end of the NBA Finals (in which the Celtics beat the Mavericks 4-1 to become NBA champions), Playing in Games 1, 2 and 5, but the injuries kept him out of the middle games in the series.
According to USA Today NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt, Porzingis will not play for Latvia (his native country) in the Olympic qualifying tournament in early July. It is unknown if he will be available to play for Latvia during the actual Olympics, if Latvia is able to qualify.
The Celtics didn’t reveal when the surgery might take place, only saying it will be “performed in the coming days.” They also didn’t release a timeline for his recovery. While the Olympics are in question, Porzingis said following the NBA Finals that his recovery should only take a “few months,” meaning he’s likely to be ready for the start of the 2024-25 NBA season.
