Celtics' Kristaps Porziņģis to Miss 2023 FIBA World Cup with Foot Injury

The Latvia basketball team will not have its headline player available for the FIBA World Cup.

Andrew Lopez of ESPN noted Kristaps Porziņģis posted on social media that he will be sidelined due to lingering plantar fasciitis. He made the decision along with the Latvia team and Boston Celtics to sit out following an MRI.

BasketNews initially reported Porziņģis was expected to miss the competition because of a foot injury.

BasketNews noted the Latvian Basketball Association previously denied a report from German journalist Rupert Fabig regarding the big man's injury.

While Latvia will have to figure out a way to compete in Group H against Canada, Lebanon and France without Porziņģis, the Celtics are surely concerned about his health as well. After all, he was the expected title contender's primary addition this offseason, and there is a track record of durability concerns.

Porziņģis hasn't played more than 66 games in a season since he was a rookie in 2015-16. He missed the 2018-19 campaign because of a torn ACL, played 43 games in 2020-21 and appeared in 51 games in 2021-22.

Last season's 65 games with the Washington Wizards was a step in the right direction, although now there are injury concerns well before the 2023-24 campaign begins.

Porziņģis is a potential All-Star who averaged 23.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season and was something of an answer to preexisting worries about Boston's frontcourt. Al Horford is 37 years old, while Robert Williams III comes with his own durability concerns.

Boston will likely need Porziņģis healthy and available if it is going to live up to expectations this season.