Hawks Face Uncertainty as Star Kristaps Porziņģis Sidelined by Mysterious Illness for Weeks

Kristaps Porziņģis, the towering presence of the Atlanta Hawks, is facing another setback with an expected sidelining of at least two more weeks, per ESPN’s Shams Charania. It’s been a rough patch for the veteran over the last couple of seasons, as health battles have repeatedly interrupted his rhythm. Diagnosed last season with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) during his stint with the Boston Celtics, Porziņģis has experienced the challenges firsthand—including moments where breathing became a struggle, forcing him out early during critical playoff games. Now with the Hawks, despite starting the season strong, he hasn’t seen the court since December 5th, missing the majority of recent matches. While the road ahead includes treatments rather than a cure for POTS, managing this condition will be an ongoing challenge for the 30-year-old, who’s in the final year of a significant contract. Here’s a closer look at Kristaps’s journey through this invisible struggle and what it means for the Hawks moving forward. LEARN MORE

Atlanta Hawks big man Kristaps Porziņģis will miss at least two more weeks, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, marking the latest illness issue for the NBA veteran over the past two seasons.

Though specifics aren’t yet known, Porziņģis was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, last season when he was with the Boston Celtics. He missed significant time during the playoffs with the Celtics, and actually left Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals early because he “couldn’t breathe.”

But Porziņģis, who was traded to the Hawks this past offseason, entered this campaign healthy and in good shape. He averaged 19.2 points and 5.6 rebounds over the first 13 games of the year, but he hasn’t played since Dec. 5 and has now missed seven of the Hawks’ last eight games.

If Porziņģis is out for just two weeks, he could be back on the floor by the end of the calendar year.

POTS, according to the Cleveland Clinic, “is a condition that causes a number of symptoms when you transition from lying down to standing up, such as a fast heart rate, dizziness and fatigue.” There is no cure, but there are treatments and things that can be done to manage symptoms better.

Porziņģis revealed in October that there were times where his heart rate would rise to 130 beats per minute when he would go from lying down to standing up. All he could do, he said, was “just lay on the couch and be a house cat.”

“It hit me, and it hit me like a truck,” Porziņģis said. “The breathing wasn’t good. I did everything I could potentially to feel as good as I could, but my engine wasn’t running the way I wanted.”

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The Hawks are entering Sunday’s game with the Philadelphia 76ers with a 14-12 record after losing four of their last five games. Porziņģis, 30, is in the final year of a two-year, $60 million deal this fall.

Though Porziņģis has been managing his POTS with help from doctors pretty successfully in recent months — he even managed to play in six games with Latvia at the FIBA EuroBasket tournament this past summer while leading them to the Round of 16 — this is going to be something Porziņģis has to deal with throughout the rest of his playing career.