Kristaps Porzingis Provides Health Update After Offseason Foot Injury

BRIGHTON, Mass. -- Kristaps Porzingis was forced to make a difficult decision this offseason, but the Boston Celtics big man now is glad he did.

Porzingis, who dealt with a foot injury after he was traded to the Celtics in June, decided to sit out the FIBA World Cup. The 28-year-old Porzingis was set to take the floor for his native Latvia.

"Really, it hurt my soul," Porzingis said during Celtics media day at Auerbach Center on Monday.

However, Porzingis now enters the 2023-24 NBA season 100% healthy. It's the best-case scenario with Boston set to begin training camp Tuesday.

"Feeling great, no limitations," Porzingis said. "The medical staff did a great job of loading up slowly, and now as I'm getting close to training camp I'm perfectly fine and ready to go."

Porzingis said he thinks the discomfort in his foot started after changing shoes this offseason. The switch made his foot become a little more sensitive, but given he was getting ready to play for Latvia, he wasn't paying much attention to it.

As it continued, Porzingis told the Celtics medical staff and they ultimately instructed Porzingis to rest. He made the decision to sit out the FIBA World Cup with the guidance of the Celtics.

"We just couldn't get that much progress in such a short time," Porzingis said. "The smart decision was to sit out and make sure the foot got to recover before I started the season."

Porzingis is confident his healthy standing will continue entering the 2023-24 campaign. He played 32 minutes in 65 games last season, which was his most since the 2016-17 season.

"I definitely believe that I am in the right time in my career. As I'm kind of going into my prime at this age, my body is much more mature than it was when I was 20 years old," Porzingis said. "I think last season was a good example, I could have played 70-plus games last season and I felt great. I felt great throughout the year."

Porzingis and the Celtics enter with championship aspirations. But their ultimate goal becomes more difficult to reach should health play a role.