Warriors Have No Answers on Kristaps Porziņģis Nine Days Before Opening Night

Golden State opens its season against the Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, and still cannot say what is keeping Kristaps Porziņģis away or when he might return.

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The Golden State Warriors will open the 2026-27 regular season against the Los Angeles Lakers in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. Nine days before that game, they cannot say when their starting center will rejoin them. Kristaps Porziņģis has been away for roughly two weeks with an undisclosed health issue. He has missed all of training camp and the preseason games played so far.

The latest development came Monday, when coach Steve Kerr said Porziņģis would be in the building Tuesday to meet with Rick Celebrini, the team's director of sports medicine and performance, and the performance staff. Kerr offered nothing beyond that. Asked whether Porziņģis would be ready for the opener, he said it would be "determined once we get him back here and have discussions and figure out where he is with all that stuff."

What the Warriors have said

General manager Mike Dunleavy announced on Sept. 28, the morning of media day, that Porziņģis would be out indefinitely for a "health issue." Coaches had seen Porziņģis working out at Chase Center before camp, so the announcement surprised the team. He did not travel with the Warriors to training camp in Hawaii.

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The picture has become murkier since. Danny Emerman of the San Francisco Standard reported Sunday that the Warriors say they do not know where Porziņģis is, exactly what he is dealing with, or when he could return. Veteran Al Horford said he had neither spoken to nor seen Porziņģis. "We just don't have much information," Horford said. Kerr has described the situation as "definitely concerning" and said the team would offer medical and emotional support. He also said he and Porziņģis had texted and that the center "seems to be doing okay," though the two had not gone into depth.

The team has not confirmed that the absence stems from a condition he already had, although that is widely assumed.

A known risk

The Warriors re-signed the 31-year-old this summer to a two-year, $40 million contract. They had acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks at last season's trade deadline in a deal that sent out Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield. They went in with his medical history in plain view. Porziņģis disclosed in 2025 that he has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which can cause rapid heart-rate changes, exhaustion and dizziness. He has said he and his doctors manage it with higher salt intake and a more deliberate recovery schedule. Emerman described the condition as incurable and unpredictable, capable of producing sudden, serious bouts of symptoms.

His availability has already been shrinking. He played 65 games for Washington in 2022-23, and his totals have fallen in the seasons since, down to 32 last year. That makes the decision to build the center rotation around him a pointed question for the front office. Whether the contract was a sound gamble now depends on facts the team has not disclosed.

What it means for the season

The immediate question is the opener. ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel reported that Golden State is bracing for Porziņģis to miss the start of the season and that the absence could linger into November. Kerr has not ruled him out, but he has not given any reason to expect him on Oct. 21, either.

The second issue is depth. Jimmy Butler is expected to begin the season injured, and reports have said he could miss about half of it. Golden State was already thin, and a prolonged Porziņģis absence would leave Draymond Green and Horford as the main options in the frontcourt. Both are veterans, and the team has not said how it would reshuffle its minutes.

The third is fit. Porziņģis is a 7-foot-2 center who can shoot from the perimeter, and that skill can pull a defender away from the rim. Analysis of his role has pointed to the extra room that creates for Stephen Curry when defenses crowd him. Without Porziņģis, Golden State loses that option.

There is also a business angle. Siegel relayed that a Western Conference executive would not be surprised if the Warriors moved Porziņģis before the trade deadline, describing him as essentially a roughly $20 million salary slot. That is one unnamed voice and not an indication of team intent, but it shows how rivals read the contract.

The days ahead

Green has said he does not expect a neat announcement of a return date. "I don't think it's necessarily a timeline of return," he said on his podcast, suggesting the news may simply arrive when Porziņģis does.

Tuesday's meeting is the first concrete step. Golden State's preseason schedule includes a game against the Lakers in Las Vegas that night, with Curry expected to play the second half, according to Kerr. The Warriors have beaten both the Lakers and the Kings in the preseason, but the team's attention is on the empty locker. What the medical staff and Porziņģis conclude Tuesday will largely determine how the Warriors plan their rotation for a season opener that Luka Dončić and the Lakers will be waiting for.

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