Golden State Warriors center Kristaps Porziņģis announced he is stepping away from basketball to prioritize his health due to an undisclosed matter in a social media post on Friday.
Porziņģis did not reveal the nature of the issue in a message posted on his X account, and the 31-year-old did not make clear whether he will resume playing.
“I was really looking forward to running it with this group, but as I ramped up, my body didn’t respond the way I anticipated,” Porziņģis wrote.
“I’m doing good, but I know what it takes, and I’m not where I want to be to perform at the level I expect from myself,” he added. “At this point, I’ve made the decision to prioritize my health and step away from the game I love.”
Selected fourth overall by the New York Knicks in the 2015 draft, Porziņģis was on his sixth team in 11 seasons.
The issue appears to date to last season, when the Latvian missed significant time after being acquired by Golden State in a trade with Atlanta. The Warriors, however, fully anticipated Porziņģis would be ready for this season after signing him to a two-year, $40m contract in late June.
Porziņģis’ status has been uncertain since late September, when the Warriors announced he would be out indefinitely with a health issue and would not travel with the team to Hawaii for training camp.
On 14 October, the team said Porziņģis would spend time with staff and teammates in some capacity while still out indefinitely after he met with general manager Mike Dunleavy and vice-president of player health and performance Dr Rick Celebrini a day earlier.
A week later, the Warriors reversed course, saying Porziņģis would not be with the team for “the immediate future”, with coach Steve Kerr providing no further insight ahead of the team’s season opener at the Los Angeles Lakers.
In his message, Porziņģis said he intends to work with the Warriors to “find a solution that makes sense”.
He closed his message by writing: “I’m thankful to my family and close ones for always being there. Much appreciation to all of you for the support. Onwards and upwards.”
