Hawks' Kristaps Porziņģis to miss next two weeks with mystery illness, per report

Atlanta Hawks big man Kristaps Porziņģis is expected to be sidelined for the next two weeks as he undergoes further evaluation stemming from an illness he's been dealing with, per ESPN. Porziņģis has already missed six of the team's last seven games due to the illness, and while he's going to miss some more time, the Hawks want to prioritize the long-term of this season, rather than a few more missed games in December.

This isn't the first time Porziņģis has dealt with a mysterious illness. During the 2025 NBA playoffs when he was still a member of the Boston Celtics, the Latvian big man struggled with lethargy, saying, "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." He played through the postseason, but mustered only 25 total points in Boston second-round loss to the Knicks. In four of the six games, he played fewer than 15 minutes a night.

Porziņģis was later diagnosed in the offseason with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), which is an autonomic disorder causing rapid heart rate, and dizziness when standing as blood in the body doesn't evenly distribute across the body. After the diagnosis, Porziņģis and his doctors found ways to manage his POTS, which includes things like a high salt diet. He was able to play for the Latvian national team at EuroBasket this past summer, where he averaged 20.2 points and 8.7 rebounds over six games.

However, Porziņģis, 30, said in early December, after returning from missing four consecutive games to drop 25 points, that he doesn't believe what he's dealing with currently is related to POTS.

"No, I wouldn't say it's the same thing," Porziņģis said after the Hawks' loss to the Nuggets on Dec. 5. "I just wasn't feeling too good, honestly. Just not being healthy healthy, you know? But I wouldn't say it's the same stuff from last season, so that's good. "I think I kind of put that behind me even this summer playing for the national team, but anyway, just catching whatever it's frustrating, you know? I want to be healthy. And I will be healthy."

The hope is that a resolution will come of Porziņģis' illness, because when he's healthy he's capable of getting you a double-double one most nights as a two-way big who can space the floor out to the 3-point line and provide high-level rim protection on defense.