Latvia plays an exhibition game Saturday
Kristaps Porzingis is with Latvia for the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Indonesia, and there are conflicting accounts on his health status.
Boston Celtics fans feared the worst when there reportedly were “growing concerns” Wednesday the 28-year-old would miss the FIBA World Cup due to a foot injury. Porzingis suffered a torn ACL in his third season in the NBA, which forced him to miss the 2018-19 season, and the 7-foot-3 big man continued to deal with knee issues since recovering from the injury.
However, the Latvia basketball team went on social media to debunk the report.
“There has been information that questions the participation of Kristaps Porzingis in the FIBA World Cup,” the team posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter. “LBS denies this information.
“Both the players’ individual preparation plans and the team’s overall training process are ongoing. The lineup for the match against the Dominican Republic will be announced on August 12.”
The Latvia basketball team included an image of Porzingis in the training room with the team to further make its case there were no injury issues with the big man.
Boston fans still might not want Porzingis to push himself, especially since Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL while playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup qualifier before he was part of the three-team deal that sent him to the Washington Wizards and Porzingis to the Celtics.
Oshae Brissett will miss the FIBA World Cup due to a knee injury, so the nerves will continue to linger for Celtics fans even if the report of a foot injury might not be true.