Kristaps Porzingis started 57 games for the Celtics last season and was key to their 2024 NBA title run.

• Get NBA League Pass TODAY >

Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porziņģis made his season debut on Monday against the LA Clippers.

Porziņģis was expected to be out for five to six months as he underwent surgery in June to repair a torn retinaculum and a dislocated posterior tibialis tendon. The former All-Star underwent surgery on June 27 and was back on Boston’s roster less than five months later.

KP of course with our first bucket 😏 pic.twitter.com/YBh7Cf8tGe

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 26, 2024

Porziņģis was expected to be out for five to six months as he underwent surgery in June to repair a torn retinaculum and a dislocated posterior tibialis tendon. The former All-Star underwent surgery on June 27 and was back on Boston’s roster less than five months later.

Porziņģis suffered his injury in Game 2 of the NBA Finals and had hoped to delay surgery until after the Finals and Latvia’s Olympic season. He ended up missing the 2024 Olympics but is working to recover for the 2024-25 season.

His final game was in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, when he played 16 minutes, scored five points and collected one rebound in Boston’s 106-88 victory that secured the Celtics their 18th NBA title. Porzingis missed Game 3 because of a dislocated tendon in his left ankle. He was granted permission to play a limited role in Game 4, but he never stopped warming up during Boston’s 122-84 loss at Dallas.

Last season, Porziņģis averaged 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 51.6% overall and 37.5% on 3-pointers in 57 games. Porzingis played in the Celtics’ first four playoff games in 2024, but then suffered a right calf injury that sidelined him until Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Celtics are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference (14-3) and are 2 1/2 games behind the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers.

Boston has played just three games (the fewest in the league) against the 14 teams that currently have a winning record, but is responsible for the Minnesota Timberwolves (9-8 heading into Sunday) losing their place in that group. The Celtics face the 11-7 Clippers and 17-1 Cavs this week, which will be only their third and fourth games against teams that are currently ranked in the top 10 defensively.

Information from The Associated Press and John Schuhmann of NBA.com was used in this report.