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June 25 (UPI) -- Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will undergo leg surgery in the coming days and miss the 2024 Summer Games, the team announced Tuesday. The Celtics said Porzingis sustained a torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg during Game 2 of the NBA Finals on June 9 in Boston. They plan to provide updates when they are available.
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Porzingis announced June 17 that he would undergo surgery, but still planned to compete for Latvia while in Paris. The Celtics said Tuesday that the "injury doesn't allow for consistent play at the level required for Olympic competition."
The veteran big man averaged 20-1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game over 57 starts for the Celtics during the regular season. He went on to log 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in seven postseason appearances. Porzingis missed Game 3 and Game 4 of the NBA Finals because of his leg issues.
He returned to score five points in about 16 minutes of action in Game 5, when the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks to secure the franchise's NBA-record 18th title.
Porzingis is under contract with the Celtics for the next two seasons. He is set to make $29.2 million in 2024-25 and $30.7 million in 2025-26.
Latvia is still attempting to qualify for Paris 2024. The Latvians will take on Georgia in an Olympic qualifying tournament July 2 in Riga, Latvia. The finale for that qualifying tournament will be held July 7 in Riga.
