Kristaps Porzingis Says He Tried to Re-Enter Knicks Game After 2018 ACL Injury

Dallas Mavericks All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis returned from his Feb. 6, 2018, ACL injury on Oct. 23, 2019, but he wanted to return much, much sooner than that. 

Porzingis told SiriusXM NBA Radio (h/t Peter Botte of the New York Post) on Thursday he "actually tried to get back in [the] game" in which the injury took place and believed he would be able to play in the All-Star game two weeks later before his MRI confirmed the torn ACL.

New York ultimately traded the 2015 fourth overall pick to the Mavericks in January 2019, making the game he got hurt his last with the Knicks.

It was not a given that Porzingis would return to top form. In September 2018, he detailed his cautious approach to recovery:

"We've done things differently because there is no protocol for a 7-3 guy. There is no timetable for my type of body, my size and all that. We've done things differently, very conservative and at the same time (I've been) killing myself working. We're just going to have to keep moving forward, keep progressing and see when is the right time for me to be back."

Porzingis was rusty to begin the 2019-20 season but eventually settled into a rhythm alongside reigning Rookie of the Year Luka Doncic in Dallas. The 24-year-old added Thursday he only thinks they will get better if and when the league returns from its hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

Porzingis was averaging 19.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks across 51 starts before the NBA announced it was suspending the season on March 11. His scoring trails only Doncic, who leads the team with 28.7 points per game.

The 40-27 Mavericks sit in seventh place in the Western Conference.