Golden State Warriors center Kristaps Porzingis will miss the start of the 2026-27 NBA season as a result of his ongoing problems regarding an unspecified health issue.
Porzingis met with Rick Celebrini, the Warriors' Director of Sports Medicine and Performance, the team's performance staff, and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. in San Francisco on Tuesday for the first time in several weeks to discuss what he has been dealing with and the organization's course of action.
The team released a statement on Wednesday confirming this meeting and publicly noting that Porzingis would remain out indefinitely due to the same health-related matter that has forced him to miss all of the Warriors' preseason. No further updates were provided, and the contents of Porzingis' meeting with Celebrini and Dunleavy were not disclosed by the team.
At this time, there is no clear return date for Porzingis, and the Warriors have provided little information as to what exactly the 31-year-old's issue is.
Earlier in October, ClutchPoints reported that things were trending in the direction of Porzingis missing the start of the 2026-27 season and that the Warriors were operating under the mindset that he would be sidelined.
Although he has been away from the team, both Celebrini and the front office had remained in direct contact with the Latvian big man before meeting with him on Tuesday in the team's facility.
After participating in the players-only mini camp hosted by Jimmy Butler in San Diego, Porzingis has not been around the team and did not travel with them to Hawaii for their official training camp. Neither head coach Steve Kerr nor general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. provided any updates over the last two weeks as to why Porzingis has been away from the team, other than citing that he had a “health issue” pop up.
Two seasons ago, while he was playing for the Boston Celtics, Porzingis contracted an upper respiratory illness that resulted in him missing a chunk of time. It was later revealed that Porzingis had been dealing with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) over the last two seasons, which has resulted in him missing close to 55% of his team's total games during this span.
The Warriors have not said whether or not Porzingis' latest health setback this season is related to what he's been dealing with over the last couple of years.
Upon being traded to Golden State from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield at the trade deadline in February, Porzingis played in 15 games for the Dubs, averaging 16.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He shot 43.3% from the floor and 31.1% from 3-point range.
Article Continues BelowThis offseason, the Warriors decided to keep Porzingis around on a new two-year, $40 million contract that is structured to give the front office options to move him if they wish to do so. Porzingis' $20 million salary for the 2026-27 season is very comparable to Kuminga's tradeable contract from a season ago, and only $3 million of his $20 million salary for the 2027-28 season is guaranteed.
Without Porzingis to begin the 2026-27 season, the Warriors will look to Draymond Green and Al Horford to be the anchors of the team's defense at the center position.
On Monday, Kerr mentioned how he is leaning in the direction of having Horford come off the bench behind Green. This would lead to the Warriors' projected starting lineup being Green, Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg.
Along with Porzingis being out to begin the new NBA season, the Warriors will also be without Butler and Moses Moody, both of whom are recovering from significant knee injuries. That means over $89 million in salary will be on the Warriors' sidelines with no clear timetable for return when the 2026-27 season begins.

