Steve Kerr Makes Major Announcement on Kristaps Porzingis Amid Health Concerns

Steve Kerr has had to deliver the same kind of uncertain update on Kristaps Porzingis before, just with less urgency attached. Back in February 2025, days before his Warriors debut, Porzingis was already dealing with both illness and Achilles tendonitis, limiting him to 17 games with the Atlanta Hawks before being traded to GSW.

Golden State managed through it and still built its offense around him by the following year. This time, with the regular season just over a week away and Porzingis having missed the entire preseason so far, Kerr's update finally offered something concrete: a date.

During Monday's press conference after practice, Kerr announced that Porzingis will be at Chase Center on Tuesday, Oct. 13, to meet with the team's medical staff, including the organization's director of sports medicine and performance, Rick Celebrini. It marks the first confirmed step toward resolution after nearly two weeks of Golden State offering almost no information about where Porzingis has been or what he's dealing with.

However, Kerr couldn't give a concrete timeline for Porzingis' return. When asked in the presser whether the 7'2 Center would play in the regular season, he replied (via NBC Sports Bay Area & California on YouTube):

"No, all that will be determined once we get him back here and have discussions and figure out where he is, all that stuff."

The silence leading up to this update has been notable even by the standards of a player who's dealt with recurring, unexplained health problems before.

Porzingis has remained away from the team through the start of training camp and the entire preseason. Kerr admitted he hadn't personally seen him and called the situation "definitely concerning."

The front office and Celebrini have stayed in consistent contact with Porzingis throughout the absence, but a timeline for his return to the practice facility, let alone the court, has remained undefined until now.

General manager Mike Dunleavy told reporters at media day that Porzingis was dealing with a health issue and would be out indefinitely, a reversal from comments made just a week earlier that Porzingis was fully cleared and on the court.

Why Kerr Is Already Planning Around Kristaps Porzingis' Absence

The uncertainty has forced Kerr's hand on roster construction. With the Warriors' regular season opening on Oct. 21 against the LA Lakers and no clear sign Porzingis will be ready, Kerr has begun teasing an Opening Night starting lineup built without him: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos and rookie Yaxel Lendeborg.

Kerr acknowledged that the loss of Porzingis' outside shooting at center makes a five-out offense harder to run. But said he's leaning toward that lineup regardless, with Green or veteran Center Al Horford anchoring the defense in Porzingis' place.

In 2025, Porzingis was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a chronic autonomic condition. However, it isn't confirmed whether his current absence is related to that.

For a team that signed Porzingis to a multi-year extension over the summer, specifically betting it could manage his health more effectively than his previous stops, Tuesday's medical evaluation is the first real test after weeks of Golden State operating almost entirely in the dark.