The Boston Celtics expect Kristaps Porzingis to miss the start of next season due to the rare ankle injury that limited him late in the NBA Finals.
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens made the revelation Wednesday on The Ryen Russillo Podcast. Stevens discussed Porzingis’ status in the context of the transition from this year’s NBA championship to early next season.
“We’re going to be different from the start just because – you know – we have guys like Kristaps after his surgery – we don’t know exactly when he’s coming back,” Stevens told Russillo. “He will probably miss at least the very first start of the season.”
Stevens did not elaborate further on Porzingis’ status and recovery.
Porzingis suffered a torn retinaculum and a dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in his left ankle in Game 2 against the Dallas Mavericks after helping Boston in Game 1 with 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Porzingis missed Games 3 and 4 and returned in a limited capacity to play in Boston’s Game 5 clincher at home.
Porzingis said after the series that he would need surgery for the injury. Stevens told reporters on Tuesday that Porzingis was consulting with doctors and was expected to undergo surgery “soon.”
Stevens subsequently declined to speculate on a timeline before acknowledging Wednesday that Porzingis would likely miss the start of next season.
It is not clear whether anything has changed in Porizingis’ status. Stevens provided no updates Wednesday on the timeline of Porzingis’ surgery.
