Why is Kristaps Porzingis not playing for Latvia at FIBA World Cup 2023? Injury update for Celtics star

Kristaps Porzingis has been ruled out of the FIBA World Cup later this month due to a foot injury that has been giving him problems. In recent weeks, there has been much uncertainty and confusion regarding Porzingis' status heading into the competition.

Although he joined Team Latvia with the intention of playing, he wound up sitting for the team's tuneup games. With the World Cup rapidly approaching, fans had been anxiously awaiting a scheduled Wednesday announcement regarding his status.

Now, reports from sources close to BasketNews have indicated that Porzingis will be out for the tournament due to the foot injury. Although there has been no word as to how this could impact Porzingis' NBA season, fans won't see him compete for the Latvian National Team.

The news comes on the heels of the Latvian team tweeting that it was denying the information of Porzingis being injured.

"There has been information that questions the participation of Kristaps Porzingis in the FIBA World Cup. LBS denies this information. Both the players' individual preparation plans and the team's overall training process are ongoing. The line-up for the match against the Dominican Republic will be announced on August 12."

Will Kristaps Porzingis be ready for the NBA season?

Given the fact that the Boston Celtics just traded a player many considered to be the locker room leader for Kristaps Porzingis, the hope is that he's ready to compete. The concern, of course, is that the injury will sideline Porzingis for a large portion of the season.

While he was with the New York Knicks, Porzingis played just 48 games in the 2017-18 season before missing all of the 2018-19 season. When he then signed with Dallas he played just 57 games during the 2019-20 season and 43 in the 2020-21 season.

Kristaps Porzingis

(Suggested Reading: Five remarkable things about LeBron James' I Promise school)

As fans continue to hold out hope that he's ready to hit the ground running when the season tips off, it sounds as though the Celtics are aware of the situation. On Aug. 9, German reporter Rupert Fabig tweeted that the Latvian team, Porzingis and the Boston Celtics were all working together to make a decision:

"Exclusive: According to my information there are growing concerns that Latvia star Kristaps #Porzingis might miss the #FIBAWC due to injury. Understood it is something with his foot. Staff, himself and Boston #Celtics will wait until the last moment to make a decision."

(Suggested Reading: Top 10 players with most ejections in NBA history)