Boston Celtics president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, was surprised to see Kristaps Porzingis play in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

Porzingis missed two complete playoff series leading up to the Finals. He missed a total of 38 days with a right calf strain and created an additional injury when he returned, a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon.

It was a rough game for Porzingis. He wasn’t able to maneuver himself the way he needs to and the Mavericks took advantage of it, even throwing him to the ground on a play because they could.

Brad Stevens on Kristaps Porzingis: "I didn't think he was gonna play in Game 5… and he woke up that morning and was like, 'nah, I'm playing, I don't care'." 😤

Check out @ChrisForsberg_'s entire exclusive 1-on-1 👉 https://t.co/EKU25X4xv2 pic.twitter.com/naOWNuDkp9

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 26, 2024

This injury will require surgery, which Stevens said Porzingis will likely miss start of the next season and the Olympics with Latvia this summer.

Dr. Jesse Morse believes that Porzingis shouldn’t miss the start of the season and if he does, it’s just the Celtics being extra cautious.

Kristaps Porzingis #NBA #Celtics

Initial reports are that he had the surgery but there are concerned about him missing the start of the 2024-25 season.

IMO he shouldn’t miss the start of the season due to the surgery itself, which means they plan on taking it really slow with… pic.twitter.com/Qkjfi9x5ZZ

— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) June 26, 2024

Porzingis is a big part of Boston’s plans for this championship window they’ve opened for themselves and they’ll need him to be at full-strength to run-it-back next season.

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Photo Credit: Matt Stone, Boston Herald