For the past few seasons, forward-center Kristaps Porzingis‘s health is the biggest hurdle to him playing at an All-Star level. Having been traded to the Atlanta Hawks in the summer, the hope is that he can help take the Trae Young-led team to the next level. However, following Latvia’s elimination in FIBA EuroBasket 2025, those potential obstacles were once again brought to light.
Though his team was taken down by Lithuania in the Round of 16, Porzingis had an excellent stat line of 34 points, 19 rebounds, two blocks and one steal in 33 minutes. The competition isn’t exactly on the NBA level, but those are the type of numbers that should have Hawks fans excited about what he can provide next season. That is, if the mysterious viral illness that plagued him in 2024-25 doesn’t stop him in his tracks.
Hawks’ Kristaps Porzingis Has Bittersweet Health Update
“It’s true that there were still some days when I wasn’t feeling perfect, and I’m still working my way back to having my gas tank full,” Porzingis told reporters following Latvia’s loss to Lithuania (h/t BasketNews). “But as the tournament went on, I started to feel really good physically, and I knew I could push my body, I could push myself to go. Today was an example of that.
“It’s just up from now,” he continues, optimistically. Whether his immune system cooperates, he believes the EuroBasket tournament allowed him to get in the proverbial midseason form. “I feel like I’ve always had my best years after playing with the national team,” Porzingis says.
(Midseason form refers to a period when players believe they’re “in great shape” and “in rhythm.”)
Doctor, Doctor!
Last season probably was not a fun one for Porzingis.
After he underwent offseason surgery to repair “a torn medial retinaculum allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon,” a rare injury that he suffered in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals, he missed the first 17 games of the 2024-25 season. When he finally returned, he was unable to play back-to-backs, games that are played on consecutive days. By the spring, the long-limbed Latvian was feeling the side effects of a sickness that left him feeling zapped. The lingering fatigue played him in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the worst postseason showing in his career.
In May, Porzingis still didn’t have a clear answer about the source of his symptoms, per MassLive reporter Brian Robb.
By July, he had made it to the other side of his sickness though. In an interview with Latvian outlet Sporta Studija, he said he felt “fantastic” (translated by BasketNews). For someone who “had fatigue, dizziness, even moments where (he) felt like (he) might faint,” it was an amazing turnaround.
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