Boston Celtics
“He’s sick. He won’t play. We will keep monitoring him.”
Kristaps Porzingis has been limited to just 18 games this season. AP Photo/Colin Hubbard
Kristaps Porzingis played a key role in the Celtics’ run to an 18th championship in 2024.
But, the 7-foot-2 center’s career has been derailed by a lingering illness that loomed over his final season in Boston.
After initially missing eight games due to an illness in March 2025, Porzingis’ play dropped off during the postseason.
Over 11 total playoff games last spring, Porzingis averaged 20.9 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting just 31.6 percent from the field — to go along with a 15.4 rate from 3-point range.
In October, Porzingis — who was traded to the Atlanta Hawks during the offseason — revealed in a story posted by The Athletic that he was dealing with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS.
It is a condition that can quickly elevated a person’s heart rate while standing, which can subsequently lead to exhaustion or dizziness.
“You know how people say, ‘Oh, I’m so fatigued.’ I’ve never used those words. I don’t even like to speak in those terms, but I really was like that,” Porziņģis told The Athletic. “At that time, I could just lay on the couch and be a house cat.”
That illness and fatigue has plagued Porzingis during the 2025-26 campaign, with the 30-year-old big man limited to just 18 games this season while playing for both the Hawks and now the Golden State Warriors.
But, during an radio interview on Friday, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made a few eye-opening comments about Porzingis’ condition.
“When I heard about the trade, I read about the POTS diagnosis and called the Hawks GM Onsi Saleh. He’s a good friend of mine and I said is this POTS story real?” Kerr said on 95.7 The Game. “He said it’s actually not POTS. That was some misinformation that was out there. I don’t know if anyone has asked him about it.
“The bottom line is whatever was bothering him in Atlanta that was keeping him out had nothing to do with the illness last week. He was just sick, there’s a lot going around as you guys know. He was sick enough where he was losing a lot of fluids and contagious so we kept him home but he’s doing a lot better now.”
Just a few days later, Kerr expressed regret about his comments regarding Porzingis’ condition.
“I can’t really say anything more on it,” Kerr told reporters before Saturday’s game against the Lakers. “It’s a medical issue way beyond my capabilities explaining anything. He’s sick. He won’t play. We will keep monitoring him.”
“It was a stupid mistake by me to talk about something I’m not qualified to talk about,” he added. “Even trying to discuss the diagnosis, that was a mistake. I need to leave that to professionals.”
Porzingis, who was acquired by the Warriors in a trade involving both Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield last month, has only played one game with Golden State. He scored 12 points and posted one rebound over 17 minutes in a loss to the Celtics on Feb. 19.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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