Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis on Surprising Early Injury Return: ‘One of the Easiest Rehabs'

Ricardo Klein | 21 Hours Ago

Nov 25, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) reacts after his three point basket against the LA Clippers in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are finally at full strength after missing their star center, Kristaps Porziņģis, for the first month of the season. 

Porziņģis was out for the last four-plus months due to a significant lower-body injury. It was a long road for the champion center, but it was far from a challenging one, at least from how Porziņģis describes it. 

Porziņģis said that his recovery from his retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon was one of the smoothest he has ever had, which led to him coming back on the court sooner rather than later. 

“Honestly, I would say, it was one of the easiest rehabs for me,” Porzingis said. “The only thing was I had to stay off the ankle for four to six weeks, so it was tough. Just on one leg with the scooter, can’t get up the stairs.”

“It was a little bit difficult from that perspective, but once that moment passed and I was able to walk, honestly it felt pretty natural,” he added. “When I was playing Game 5, that was when it didn’t feel natural. That’s when you could tell something was off. But once Dr. O’Malley fixed it, it felt super natural and it just needed time to heal and get stronger.”

Porziņģis was projected to return sometime in December. Instead, he made his season debut just days before Thanksgiving. 

Some were in shock at how quickly Porziņģis made his return, including the president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens. 

“I don’t think we realized it until we really got into camp and then you see him work,” Stevens said. “When we saw him in Abu Dhabi, the way he was moving and the way he felt, it was pretty obvious he was going to be at the front end of that timeline.”

Porziņģis has only played in three games thus far and is averaging 19.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 50 percent from the field and 33 percent from three.

The 29-year-old also mentioned how he was itching to get back on the court soon after winning the first championship of his career. 

“I started to feel pretty good almost a month ago,” Porzingis said. “I would say the whole rehab, I was ahead of it all the time. I was itching to do more, start more, sprints, contact one-on-one.”

“I was asking the medical staff to do more, but we were still smart and completed all the stages up to get to this point,” he continued. “I told them that if you guys give me the green light, I want to do it as soon as possible. That was it. I got here maybe a even a month early and it’s good to be back out there.”

With Porziņģis back on the court, the Celtics are on pace to be the top team in the league and defend their title. 

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