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Celtics, Fans Welcome Kristaps Porzingis Back to Court With Dramatic WWE-Like Entrance

The 7-foot-2 forward returned to Boston's starting lineup on Monday for the first time since offseason surgery.

Mike Kadlick

Porzingis underwent offseason foot surgery.
Porzingis underwent offseason foot surgery. / Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
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Boston Celtics fans received a pleasant surprise on Monday morning when, as first reported by Celtics Wire's Cameron Tabatabaie and later confirmed by ESPN's Shams Charania, it was announced that Kristaps Porzingis would be making his season debut against the Los Angeles Clippers.

On Monday night, fans were thrilled to welcome the 7'2" forward dubbed "The Unicorn" back to TD Garden. Check out their reaction to him entering the court for pregame warmups:

After retreating to the locker room before re-entering the floor for the game, the Celtics decided to enter without Porzingis—which allowed for this dramatic, WWE-like entrance for the forward:

Boston traded for Porzingis ahead of last season, and in 57 regular-season games (all starts), he averaged 20.1 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 1.9 blocks per game.

Throughout the Celtics' postseason run towards Banner 18, Porzingis dealt with a bevy of injuries, including a calf strain that held him out for over a month and a "torn medial retinaculum" that allowed "dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon."

He underwent surgery on June 27 and now makes his official return to the Celtics' starting lineup—alongside Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum—on Monday.

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Mike Kadlick
MIKE KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is a breaking/trending news writer at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered the New England Patriots for WEEI sports radio in Boston and continues to do so for CLNS Media. He graduated from Boston University with his Master's in 2021. Mike is also an avid runner and a proud lover of all things pizza.

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