“Mysterious” Illness Sidelining Porzingis, Kerr: “He’s Sick, He Won’t Play”

The Golden State Warriors are anxious about the condition of Kristaps Porzingis: the Latvian center will miss his fourth straight game Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, due to what the team has described as a “general illness”.

Head coach Steve Kerr explained:

I really can’t add much more. It’s a medical issue that goes beyond my expertise. He’s sick, he won’t play. We’ll continue to monitor him

Steve Kerr

The statement comes after Kerr, during a radio appearance in the Bay Area, had said that Porzingis was not suffering from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), contradicting the player’s own public comments about battling the condition over the past year.

I read about the POTS diagnosis and called Onsi Saleh, the Hawks’ GM. He’s a good friend, and I asked him, ‘Is this POTS thing real?’ He told me it actually isn’t. There had been some misinformation out there

Steve Kerr

On Saturday, however, Kerr walked back those remarks:

It was a dumb mistake to talk about something I’m not qualified to discuss. Even bringing up the diagnosis was a mistake. I need to leave those evaluations to the professionals

Steve Kerr

Porzingis began experiencing health issues last season with the Boston Celtics, when team doctors in Boston identified POTS as the cause of his symptoms. Limited to 17 games with the Atlanta Hawks, the Latvian big man has also struggled in the early stages of his tenure with the Warriors, appearing in just one of the team’s first eight games this season.

Porzingis’ situation in Golden State remains an evolving medical mystery: no definitive answers, plenty of questions, and a team hoping to have him back at full strength without rushing the process.