Kristaps Porzingis will hit the ground running in his season debut for the Celtics amid a “long rehab.”

Kristaps Porzingis helped the Boston Celtics win the 2024 NBA Championship, but the veteran forward has been sidelined since then with an ankle injury.

Apparently, Porzingis was absent for the Celtics’ first 17 games of the season. Although the Celtics remained a top team in the Eastern Conference in his absence, fans longed to see him back in action.

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Porzingis finally played his first game of the season against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers had no answer for the Celtics as Porzingis was back in the lineup and they suffered a resounding 126-94 defeat.

After the game, Porzingis expressed his views on his NBA return and even talked about his “long rehab,” which lasted five months.

“It felt great. It wasn’t a particularly long rehab, but it was a long rehab,” Porzingis said. “I really wanted to get back to this team after winning a championship. It was a good start, a good first game back.”

He also revealed that head coach Joe Mazzulla and the rest of the team management would not place a major minutes restriction on him going forward.

Porzingis has overcome a number of injuries throughout his career, but he called his return from the ankle injury one of the “easiest” rehabs of his NBA career.

The 7’2″ star contributed 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in his first game of the season for the Celtics as the organization improved its record to 15-3 while holding onto second place in the Eastern Conference.

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