Checking Up On How Kristaps Porzingis Is Doing With Hawks
Former Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis is now a member of the Atlanta Hawks, after Boston traded KP in June as part of a three-team deal. The Hawks are 1-3 through four games in 2025-26, and KP has missed two of their four games due to flu-like symptoms. When Porzingis has played, though, he’s been effective. Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls was the most recent example.
Fueled by a hot start, in which KP scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the game, Porzingis finished with 27 points against Chicago on an impressive 11-of-17 from the field.
Having dropped 20 points in his Hawks debut, Porzingis is averaging 23.5 points for Atlanta on 53.8 percent from three in his first two games.
While Porzingis’s early success might have non-Celtics fans thinking that Celtics fans feel some type of way, the truth is that Boston fans are most likely to notice the two games out of four missed for KP, considering his time in a green uniform was defined in many cases by his unavailability.
Porzingis came through big-time in an NBA Finals game for the Celts in 2024 and wholly deserves his championship ring as a contributing member of that team, but Celtics fans have been able to generally move past his departure without too much difficulty due to his legacy of missing so many games.
There’s also the possibility that Porzingis will return to Boston on a minimum deal next offseason, as he’s due to become a free agent. If KP has another injury-riddled season, there won’t be many (or any) suitors willing to give him much more than a minimum deal.
That could open the door for Brad Stevens to bring Porzingis back to Boston, but would it even be worth it?
There are a lot of “ifs” attached to that question, and at the end of the day, the best outcome for the Celts is probably to steer clear of Porzingis and allow his legacy as a 2024 champion to remain as is.