The Golden State Warriors will open training camp in Hawaii without Kristaps Porzingis after a late health setback wiped out plans for the 7-foot-2 center to take part in the first week of work.
Porzingis had been cleared to play last week. By Monday, the team was preparing to leave without him.
General manager Mike Dunleavy said he learned Sunday that Porzingis was dealing with a health issue, according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater. The center is out indefinitely. The Warriors have not identified the issue and have not given a timetable for his return.
The timing leaves Golden State without one of the players it counted on to reshape the frontcourt next to Stephen Curry. Porzingis signed a two-year deal worth up to $40 million in June. His salary this season is guaranteed. Only $3 million of the 2027-28 portion is guaranteed.
Last season Porzingis averaged 16.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 15 games after the Warriors acquired him from Atlanta at the February trade deadline. In 32 games combined with Atlanta and Golden State, he averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.
He shot 31 percent from three-point range in his short Warriors stint and did not play any back-to-backs. Availability has been the larger concern. He appeared in 42 games for Boston in 2024-25 and 57 games the season before that.
Porzingis has spoken publicly about a postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome diagnosis after a viral illness during his final season with the Celtics. The condition can produce a rapid heartbeat when standing, along with dizziness and fatigue. Illness continued to interrupt his time after the trade to Golden State.
The Warriors have not said the current issue is related to that diagnosis. In February, coach Steve Kerr questioned the reported diagnosis before walking the comments back and saying he was not qualified to discuss it.
Porzingis’ injury file also includes a torn left ACL with the New York Knicks in 2018 and surgery for a torn right meniscus in Dallas. A strained right calf cost him 10 games during Boston’s 2024 playoff run. A separate left leg injury kept him out of Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
None of those past problems explains what happened Sunday. They do explain why his availability was already a central question before camp opened.
Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are also working through rehabilitation. That places more early work on Al Horford and Draymond Green. Horford, 40, played 45 games last season. Green remains the defensive anchor.
Training camp begins Tuesday at the George Q. Cannon Activities Center on the BYU-Hawaii campus and runs through Saturday. Media day was scheduled for Monday in San Francisco. Practices are closed, with player and coach availability afterward.
The Warriors play the Los Angeles Clippers in Honolulu on Oct. 4 to open the preseason. They return to the mainland for a game against the Lakers on Oct. 6 at Chase Center. The regular-season opener is Oct. 21 against the Lakers.
Porzingis gives Golden State size that can space the floor and protect the rim. Those traits matter for a team trying to maximize Curry’s remaining prime. The roster construction assumed he would be available at the start of camp.
The lack of a diagnosis or return date means the Warriors will install their early-season rotations without him. Charles Bassey and other bigs on the camp roster will get extra looks. The front office structured the contract with some later-year protection, but that does not fill minutes in September and October.
Golden State finished last season in the play-in. The staff has said it reviewed Porzingis’ medical picture extensively before bringing him back. Camp was supposed to be the first on-court test of that bet. Instead the team will start without an answer.
