Celtics' Kristaps Porziņģis to Have Surgery on Leg Injury After 2024 NBA Finals Win

After helping the Boston Celtics win their 18th NBA championship in franchise history, center Kristaps Porziņģis is set for offseason surgery.

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Porziņģis said after Boston's title-clinching, 106-88 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night that he requires a surgical procedure on his left leg that will involve a recovery timetable of a "few months."

The Celtics announced that Porziņģis suffered a "rare" injury in Game 2 of the Finals, as he tore his medial retinaculum, which resulted in the dislocation of his posterior tibialis tendon.

Porziņģis missed Games 3 and 4, but he was able to return for Game 5, recording five points and one rebound in 16 minutes.

While Porziņģis confirmed that he had some concerns about playing on the injury in Game 5 of the Finals, he noted that he didn't have second thoughts about his decision to gut it out, saying:

"Of course. I think something could have happened, for sure, especially compensating now on the other leg now, which I just came back from. There was definitely some added risk, but I didn't care. I was like, 'I want to give everything I can and then fix it after if I need to.'"

The 7'2" big man from Latvia was originally the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the New York Knicks before enjoying stints with the Mavericks and Washington Wizards.

Prior to the 2023-24 season, the Celtics acquired Porziņģis from the Wizards as part of a three-team trade in which they sent guard Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Despite having to contend with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday for offensive touches, Porziņģis enjoyed a spectacular first season in Boston, averaging 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.9 three-pointers made per game during the regular season.

The one-time All-Star signed a two-year, $60 million contract extension with Boston after arriving from Washington, meaning he is under contract through the 2025-26 season.

Boston is set to return essentially its entire core next season, including Tatum, Brown, White, Holiday, Porziņģis, Al Horford and Payton Pritchard, which means they have a legitimate chance to be he first back-to-back NBA champions since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018.

The Celtics had a league-best 64-18 record in 2023-24 even with Porziņģis missing 25 regular-season games due primarily to a calf issue, not to mention Holiday missing 13 games and Brown missing 12.

If Porziņģis is at full strength by the start of the 2024-25 campaign and the Celtics can largely remain healthy throughout the year, they have a chance to be even better than they were this season.