NBA
Will Kristaps Porzingis play for the Latvian Olympic team?
The Latvian and the Boston Celtics center will miss his national team’s qualification tournament for the Olympic Games in Paris due to surgery on his left leg.
It was announced today that he would need a two-month break after the surgery procedure on his left leg. The qualification tournament played in his country’s capital, Riga, is on the program from July 2.
Porzingis participated in the Boston Celtics’ quest for a historic 18th NBA title. He damaged a ligament and connective tissue in the second game of the finals series against the Dallas Mavericks. Still, he returned to the floor for the fifth game in which the Celtics confirmed winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. In the decisive duel (106:88), he played 16 minutes and recorded five points and a rebound.
“A lot of effort has been put in... I think I’ve peaked. My leg is not great, but I gave everything I could for the team. There were risks, but I didn’t care,” said the 221 cm tall 28-year-old after the triumph over his former team in the 2024 NBA Finals.
Porzingis’ national team history of injuries
Porzingis has a well-known history of injuries, particularly when playing for the national team. He did not participate in the World Cup last summer. His debut for the national team in senior competition was at the EuroBasket in 2017, where he achieved impressive statistics, averaging 23.6 points per game (ranked third), 5.9 rebounds per game (ranked 19th), and 1.9 blocks per game (ranked first). Despite his performance, Latvia was eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual champions Slovenia, losing 97–103.
After a five-year absence, primarily due to injuries or chronic tiredness, Porziņģis returned to play for the national team in the August window of the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers in August 2022. In his last outing in national team colors, he averaged 25.5 points per game, 14 rebounds per game, and three blocks per game in two games.
This year, although the Latvian team won’t have the most famous player from the Baltic country, which they got used to, they will have the advantage of playing at home. Their rivals in the group are the Philippines and Georgia, and the other three teams are Montenegro, Brazil, and Cameroon. Only the tournament winner will get his Paris Olympic men’s basketball tournament visa.