Celtics Coach Reveals Kristaps Porziņģis Overruled Medical Staff to Play in Game 5

The former All-Star played 16 minutes to help Boston clinch the championship.

Jun 17, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) walks off the court against the Dallas Mavericks / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics put away the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals in part thanks to the return of Kristaps Porziņģis. The 7-foot-2 center played a huge role in driving Boston's Game 1 win, but went down in Game 2 with a rare leg injury and was ruled out for Game 3. In Game 4, the Celtics declared Porziņģis "available" but he didn't play a second of the blowout loss.

But the big man made it out there in Game 5, playing 16 minutes and recording five points on four field goal attempts. In an interview with Pardon My Take, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla revealed Porziņģis "overruled" the team's medical staff to get out there and play in what ended up being the final game of the season.

"It was like, we don't know how long the series is going to go on for," Mazzulla said. "Let's try to save him from himself because he was trying to play. Let's see if he can get through a game or two. Then, when it was Game 5 at home, it was like, 'Hey, this might be it, I gotta be out there.' So he was like 'I'm playing.' He overrode the medical team there and was like, 'I'm playing.'"

Kristaps Porzingis overruled the Celtics medical team to play in Game 5 @PardonMyTake pic.twitter.com/GLLa1r3jS7

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 19, 2024

Immediately after the Finals, Porziņģis told ESPN that he would be undergoing surgery for his injury and was facing a months-long recovery process. Given the injury was severe to begin with, it doesn't seem as though playing in Game 5 made anything worse— something Porziņģis admitted he was worried about, but he ultimately "didn't care."

"There was definitely some added risk, but I didn't care," the big man said during his media availability after winning his first title. I was like, 'I want to give everything I can and then fix it after if I need to.'"

Now, Porziņģis has until September training camp to rest up and bask in the glow of earning a championship ring.