Veteran big man Kristaps Porzingis has only played one game for the Golden State Warriors, and the team isn’t rushing his recovery. While a return is imminent for the NBA sharpshooter, the exact details on his injury are still a mystery. According to Steve Kerr, he’s not suffering from POTS like they had been led to believe.
“When I heard about the trade, I read about his POTS diagnosis and then called Onsi Saleh, who was with us; he’s now Atlanta’s GM, and he’s a good friend of mine,” said Kerr on the Willard & Dibs Show. “I called him, and I said, ‘Is this POTS story real?’ And he said it’s actually not POTS. It was not POTS.’ So that was some misinformation that was out there.”
“POTS” stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, and Porzingis was (allegedly) diagnosed in late 2025. It’s a rare and chronic autonomic disorder with symptoms that include rapid heart rate, dizziness, and extreme fatigue. He’s been managing it for a while now, putting him out for 14 straight games for the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to the Warriors at the deadline for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield.
Somehow, it wasn’t until after the trade that the Warriors discovered the truth. He doesn’t actually have POTS at all; the setback was something else entirely that Kerr refused to disclose. The important thing is, his current absence is unrelated to his previous medical history.
“I don’t know if anybody’s asked him about it, but the bottom line is, whatever was bothering him in Atlanta that was keeping him out had nothing to do with the illness last week,” Kerr added. “He was just sick. There’s a lot going around, as you guys know, and he was sick enough where he was losing a lot of fluid and contagious, so we just kept him home, but he’s doing a lot better now.”
While it’s shocking that Porzingis’ situation was so badly represented, it’s good news for the Warriors. In a season that’s been ravaged by multiple injuries already, they need all the help they can get to put the season back on track. While Porzingis has only played one game so far, his return is imminent, and how he performs could make or break the Warriors’ season.
With averages of 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game on 55.6% shooting and 40.0% shooting from three, Porzingis has the talent to save this Warriors season, but it’s going to require him to stay healthy and on the court consistently.
