NBA
Celtics confirm Kristaps Porzingis will miss start of next NBA season: when will he be back playing?
Latvian center Porzingis suffered a rare injury during the 2024 NBA Finals win over the Dallas Mavericks, requiring surgery.
The Boston Celtics have confirmed that Kristaps Porzingis will miss the start of the 2024/25 NBA season after undergoing surgery to repair foot and ankle issues which plagued him during the Finals victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Porzingis’ injury nightmare during 2024 NBA Playoffs
The Latvian star initially missed 10 consecutive games during the postseason because of a calf injury suffered in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round win over the Miami Heat. Porzingis returned for the first two games of the Finals, was forced to sit out Games 3 and 4 due to a new injury, but then played through the pain barrier for 16 minutes as the Celtics clinched a record 18th NBA Championship in Game 5.
That, however, came at a cost, with it later being disclosed that the center had suffered a “torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon,” an incredibly rare injury which affects the tendons in the foot.
How long will Porzingis be out?
The Celtics revealed on Thursday that Porzingis had undergone surgery to repair the issue and was now looking at between five and six months on the sidelines, meaning he will miss the beginning of the 2024/25 NBA season.
The next regular season is expected to start in the second half of October, although the exact date has yet to be confirmed (it has been 24, 18 and 19 October in the last three years).
A five-month layoff would see Porzingis return to action in the last week of November, potentially in time for Thanksgiving. In that scenario, he would likely be forced to miss the first five or so weeks of the season.
If the Celtics decide to play it safe and the 28-year-old spends six months in recovery, his comeback would come sometime around Christmas and New Year, which would potentially mean sitting out the first two months of 2024/25.