There’s no doubting that the Golden State Warriors will enter the 2026-27 NBA season with a whole lot of talent. Instead, the question with the Dubs has always been whether they can stay healthy, with Steph Curry and Draymond Green’s mounting list of ailments, Jimmy Butler III’s ACL, and Moses Moody’s patellar tendon.
The biggest injury question mark, however? That of Kristaps Porziņģis. After trading Jonathan Kuminga for him at February’s deadline, the Warriors somewhat surprisingly gave Porziņģis a two-year,
$40 million extension to kick off the offseason.
When the Dubs inked the All-Star to that extension, the reasoning was simple: he fit in brilliantly both on offense and defense in his short stint last season, and can transform the team on both ends of the court. The concern was equally simple: for a variety of reasons, the 7’2 Porziņģis has been unable to stay on the court throughout his career. Just look at his games played totals for the last nine seasons:
48
0
57
43
51
65
57
42
32
And unfortunately, that trend is already continuing to start this season. When the Warriors arrived in Hawaii to start training camp on Monday, the 31-year old Porziņģis was not there with them. He is officially listed as out indefinitely due to a health issue, though the team has not provided more details than that.
According to GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., Porziņģis was fully cleared last week, but informed the team on Sunday of a health issue, and won’t join the team in Hawaii. The Dubs are in Hawaii for the first week of camp, which includes a preseason game on Sunday against the LA Clippers in Honolulu. They return to the Bay Area after that, as they host the Los Angeles Lakers next Tuesday in a preseason contest.
While the Warriors are being vague about what Porziņģis is dealing with, Dunleavy did try to temper concerns, tell reporters that the center is out for the week, but has not been ruled out for the start of the season in late October.
Sadly, none of this is surprising. But hopefully good news is on the horizon for Porziņģis and the team.
