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After looking like a shell of his All-Star self during the semifinals loss to the Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis finally has a diagnosis for the sickness that hampered him since March.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in his post-season media availability that Porzingis was dealing with “post-viral syndrome,” which the medical team expects him to get over within a few weeks now that the season is over.
Stevens noted that Porzingis’ recovery was not helped by continuing to play basketball this season, and he suspects the big man will make a full recovery.
The team hopes that Porzingis will play in the EuroBasket biennial tournament for his home country of Latvia in August.
Porzingis consistently missed time for much of the second half of the season with an unknown illness, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was forced to sit him for the whole second half of Game 5 against the Knicks because “he couldn’t breathe” in an eventual second-round series loss to his former team.
Porzingis initially missed eight games in March, recovering from what was described as a “non-COVID illness,” and looked like a shell of himself by the time the playoffs rolled around in May.
Even when Porzingis played, he was completely ineffective.
The ex-Knick averaged 20.9 minutes per game through two playoff rounds, putting up just 7.9 points per contest as he constantly looked winded on the court.
The 7-foot-2 center averaged 4.2 points per game and just 3.7 rebounds in 15.5 minutes in six games against the Knicks and was benched for long stretches as Boston searched for scoring and consistent defense.
Now, Boston enters an uncertain offseason where nothing is off the table after star Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles and could miss the entire 2025-26 campaign.
It had been reported that the Celtics, who have a massive salary cap total already committed for 2025 of $261.9 million, will break up the team in an attempt to get cheaper.
If they don’t shed salary, the Celtics’ new ownership group is expected to owe a $238 million luxury tax bill on top of the salaries they are already committed to pay.
Porzingis could be a piece that Boston looks to move this offseason as he has an expiring contract after this season, although it is unclear what his trade market will be.
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