Kristaps Porziņģis headed to the locker room in the second quarter of the Warriors’ loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday, and he didn’t return for the rest of the game.
After the game, Porziņģis explained the back issue that sidelined him for the second half.
“I kind of started feeling it from the first quarter, started spasming up a bit,” he explained (h/t Anthony Slater). “I tried to move and — while I was warm, I was okay, but in that one play I kind of felt a little spasm.”
Porziņģis took a couple pushes from Pistons center Paul Reed in the second quarter before reaching down towards his lower back; he asked out of the game soon after at the 4:54 mark.
With the Warriors set to take on the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday for the second half of a road back-to-back,
Porziņģis’ availability obviously is up in the air. But the big man appeared optimistic he wouldn’t be out too long.
“Feeling alright, a little tight now. Once I cooled down it tightened up even more, but I’ll get it going soon,” he explained, before a question about if he feels like he will sit Saturday. “Probably. Yeah, we’ll see. Maybe it loosens up tomorrow, who knows? Right now it’s pretty stiff.”
Porziņģis, who has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his NBA career, also was asked postgame if he’s had back issues in the past.
“Earlier in my career a little bit,” Porziņģis replied. “Honestly, I’m pretty good at managing and keeping the back strong. I’m sure it’ll go away pretty quickly.”
The 30-year-old already missed a big chunk of this season — Saturday was just his 24th game of 2025-26 — as he dealt with a nagging illness and Achilles injury.
But if there’s any silver lining, though, it doesn’t appear as though this incident is related.
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