Kristaps Porzingis’ ‘unexplained’ health issue and the Warriors’ ambiguous prospects
KRISTAPS PORZINGIS’ DEBUT with the Golden State Warriors on February 19 unfolded as anticipated for a player who had been out for over a month. He exhibited some rust, still acclimating to the team’s motion offense and his new environment.
However, there were glimpses of his exciting potential in the second half. Porzingis scored two post-up jumpers against a mismatch, sank a 30-footer, and volleyball spiked a floater from Nikola Vucevic. The Warriors outscored their opponents by 15 points during the 9 minutes and 48 seconds Porzingis was on the court.
In the matchup against the Boston Celtics — the team with which he secured a championship in 2024 — Porzingis demonstrated the floor-spacing and rim-protecting abilities that earned him the “Unicorn” moniker during his rookie season with the New York Knicks. This skill set was a significant factor in the Warriors’ decision to trade for him midseason, despite ongoing concerns regarding his capacity to manage a mysterious condition that developed after he contracted a virus over a year ago.
“[He brings] a size and presence we’ve been looking for a while,” Stephen Curry remarked about his tallest teammate to date.
At his peak, Porzingis is among the top players capable of elevating a team’s performance in nearly any situation. Even during his brief 17-game tenure with the Atlanta Hawks, following an offseason trade from the Celtics, the team was plus-49 with him on the floor and minus-93 when he was off it.
Yet, the issue has never been his skill; it has been his availability. Porzingis has missed a total of 110 games over the past 2½ seasons.
“I’m confident that I will [be able to stay on the court],” Porzingis stated upon joining the Warriors. “I’ll just do everything right and I believe I will.”
“I think it’s a great opportunity to turn a new page.”
However, when Porzingis spoke to reporters afterward, he let out a yawn before the fifth question.
An uncontrollable, prolonged yawn. Porzingis apologized, seemingly to ensure he wasn’t perceived as impolite.
Then he yawned again, subtly reminding everyone of the ongoing fatigue that threatens to disrupt his NBA career: The 30-year-old former All-Star was diagnosed last year by Celtics medical staff with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), an autonomic disorder that can significantly elevate heart rate and induce dizziness and fatigue.
“I felt all right. Far from being in perfect shape,” Porzingis commented. “But I think for [the] first game back after a while, getting some energy back, feeling good. … I think it’s just a matter of time to get in a better rhythm.”
Three mornings later, Porzingis awoke feeling unwell in his team-provided hotel room in San Francisco and contacted the training staff. He transitioned from being the focal point of the ABC afternoon game against the Denver Nuggets to being too ill to attend the arena.
Porzingis practiced with the team a week later and was upgraded to questionable. The internal expectation was for him to return against the Los Angeles Lakers. However, that Saturday afternoon, he was ruled out again due to a general illness, extending an absence that has now reached six consecutive games, during which he has seldom been seen in public.
This marks another setback for a Warriors season that is fading into disappointment. Jimmy Butler tore his right ACL in January. Curry remains sidelined indefinitely due to ongoing right knee issues. Together with Porzingis, this amounts to $144.4 million in salary on the bench while the Warriors find themselves in a play-in position.
For Porzingis, the situation is more critical. He is an unrestricted free agent this summer, possessing the talent to believe a substantial contract could be forthcoming, but also facing health concerns that have some league executives questioning whether he will have any market at all.
“It’s a little mysterious,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr remarked regarding Porzingis’ illness. “We’re obviously working with him and hoping that he can gain some clarity. And he can kind of break through and reach a point where he’s consistently healthy, but that’s something that the medical staff is diligently addressing with him. I’m not going to even propose any medical theories anymore.”
THE HARDEST PART for everyone, particularly Porzingis, is the lack of clarity surrounding his condition and what steps he can take to address it.
Doctors informed him that his POTS was likely triggered by the upper respiratory viral illness he contracted while with the Celtics in late February 2025. He missed eight consecutive games, later telling reporters that he was still experiencing “lingering fatigue” due to a persistent issue that had yet to be identified.
In an unexpected turn, Kerr mentioned on local Bay Area radio last week that he had contacted Hawks general manager Onsi Saleh, who previously worked in Golden State’s front office, after the trade and was told Porzingis was not dealing with POTS. This statement caused a stir within the Warriors, prompting Kerr to retract his comments at a pregame press conference the following day.
“It was a foolish mistake on my part to discuss something I’m not qualified to address,” he acknowledged. “I regret even attempting to talk about the diagnosis. That was my error. I should leave that to the professionals.”
When feeling the effects of his condition, Porzingis has compared it to the exhaustion one experiences after a long day of hard work. He has attempted to manage it through proper hydration, nutrition, and sleep.
During the playoffs last May, especially leading up to and during the second-round defeat to the Knicks, Porzingis tried various methods to boost his strength but was limited to an average of 15.5 minutes over six games and did not reach double-digit points in any of them.
“I don’t want to throw some — what is it called? — pity party for myself,” Porzingis stated. “Oh, it just wasn’t perfect.”
However, the summer brought optimism. Porzingis regained his rhythm and energy through a rigorous training routine and competed for Latvia in Eurobasket, averaging 20.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks across six tournament games.
This momentum carried over to his latest NBA team. Porzingis participated in three preseason games for the Hawks and then played in seven of Atlanta’s first nine regular-season games and 12 of their first 19.
Yet another prolonged struggle with the illness emerged in December, and Achilles tendinitis kept him sidelined for most of January.
As the Warriors considered the possibility of trading for an inactive Porzingis, they stated they conducted their “due diligence” on his medical history and felt assured about proceeding with the trade.
“The straightforward answer for me is I heavily rely on and trust our medical group,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy told ESPN. “So when they review the information and say, ‘We’re good, we feel comfortable with what we’re dealing with,’ then I move on to the next basketball-related matter. For that reason, we collectively feel good about the decision and will proceed from there.”
The word from the Warriors shortly after the Jonathan Kuminga for Porzingis trade was that they expected him to be ready to debut soon. After consulting with Rick Celebrini, the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance, upon joining the team in Los Angeles, they decided to keep Porzingis in San Francisco during the All-Star break and prepare him for a return on February 19.
In the aftermath, a confident Porzingis — who indicated he was ready for a “surprisingly good post All-Star break period” — expressed a desire to quickly increase his minutes limit.
“Honestly, as quickly as possible,” Porzingis said. “Even if I am exhausted out there, I want to still push myself. … It’s always strange coming back after a while, but I’ve experienced ups and downs in my career and I’m quite adept at jumping right back in.”
He accomplished this during the Celtics’ championship run in 2024 — rejoining for 16 minutes in a crucial Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks — despite playing on a severely injured ankle that required offseason surgery.
Porzingis returned ahead of schedule from that ankle surgery and performed well in the 32 games he played last season before contracting the virus.
However, this experience has been entirely different. It is not about toughness, resilience, pain, or attitude. It is solely about his daily health and what that could signify for his long-term future.
“I know there’s even a statistic that players tend to perform better in their contract year or something,” Porzingis mentioned on February 7. “But I don’t focus on that too much. I just want to finish the year strong. … I just want to finish the year really strong on a new team, new chapter, and see where I go from there.”
Porzingis is currently on the Warriors’ trip. He completed a full-speed pregame workout Thursday night and could practice Friday as they attempt to prepare him for a return.
IN THE LEAD-UP to the NBA trade deadline on February 5, the Warriors inquired about Jaren Jackson Jr., Giannis Antetokounmpo, and were among the teams that reached out regarding Kawhi Leonard when it seemed the LA Clippers might be open to trades, according to league sources.
None of those deals came to fruition, prompting the Warriors to pivot to their backup option in exchange for the disgruntled Kuminga, who was on an expiring contract.
Porzingis had been on the franchise’s radar as a potential trade target since last season when it became evident that the Celtics were heading toward a financial reckoning and would need to offload salary. The Warriors initiated discussions with the Hawks about Porzingis more than a month before February’s deadline, prior to Butler’s ACL tear, initially viewing Porzingis as a complementary piece for a fringe contender.
“In a perfect world, I would’ve loved to have Jimmy with him as well,” Dunleavy stated. “But I think it works with or without Jimmy.”
The Hawks shared a similar perspective on Porzingis’ capacity to enhance any lineup, league sources indicated, acquiring him last summer to provide their young core with an efficient rim-protecting 7-footer who could extend the floor to 30 feet.
The theory proved effective in practice. Porzingis averaged 17.1 points in just 24.1 minutes during his 17 games with the Hawks. They achieved a team-best 5.8 net rating in his 413 minutes. His presence contributed to improved team performance.
However, there was a reason he was made available when the Warriors expressed interest. Porzingis’ availability was too sporadic due to Achilles tendinitis and the illness.
Consequently, a second team in eight months agreed to trade one of the league’s most unique talents. Atlanta took on Buddy Hield’s contract ($3 million guaranteed next season) to acquire Kuminga — a low-risk gamble on a flexible contract — in exchange for Porzingis for the remainder of the season, with the possibility of re-signing him this summer.
“We see him as more than a rental,” Dunleavy stated. “We believe he can assist our team this year, improve our playoff positioning, and then moving forward align with what we are seeking.”
One month after the trade, the situation has not shifted in Golden State’s favor. This past Sunday night, as Kuminga capped off a three-game surge with the Hawks featuring a windmill dunk that prompted Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins to exclaim “Thank you, Golden State Warriors!” on the Atlanta broadcast, Porzingis was being ruled out for what would become the Warriors’ eighth loss in their last 12 games.
The Warriors now find themselves closer to the 10th-place Portland Trail Blazers than the seventh-place Phoenix Suns in the standings, trapped in play-in limbo. They have won too many games to adjust their strategy for optimal draft positioning, yet are too far from the top six to realistically pursue a secure playoff spot.
This reality, combined with the extended absences of Butler, Curry, and Porzingis, paints a grim picture in the short term and raises further questions about the long-term sustainability of the aging core.
The Warriors retain the ability to trade up to four of their future first-round picks this summer, enabling them to enhance a trade pursuit for Antetokounmpo or any other significant name that may become available. Porzingis, if he regains value, is also eligible for sign-and-trade for salary matching purposes.
However, it is evident that part of the motivation behind the Porzingis acquisition was financial. The team targeted an expiring contract, and if Porzingis departs, he will be viewed as a salary-dump move in hindsight.
“It provides us with a bit of flexibility moving into next year,” Dunleavy stated. “We can manage our finances a little better. … For us, considering some of the free agents we have, Draymond [Green] with a player option, and the uncertainty we face, it’s challenging to know what salary cap we will be under.”
While the front office navigates financial uncertainty, the Warriors’ locker room is not rushing their newest teammate back onto the court.
“When a guy is hurt or sick or whatever, there’s no one around here pressuring you, like, ‘Yo, what’s going on?’ We don’t operate that way,” Green remarked. “So I don’t think in this locker room, we feel the uncertainty as much as everyone else does, because that’s just not how we function. We know if he’s healthy, he’ll return to the court.”
“We don’t pressure players to create anxiety about needing to come back. No, you’ll return when you can.”
