Porzingis out for FIBA World Cup
Boston Celtics forward Kristaps Porzingis will not play for Latvia in the FIBA World Cup because of plantar fasciitis.
Porzingis announced on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, that he made the decision after an MRI in consultation with the Celtics and Latvian coaching and medical staffs about the foot issue.
Such a decision is not easy to make, but I promise that I will be there and support the team as much as I can,” Porzingis wrote in Latvian.
He didn’t indicate how quickly he could return to basketball, but plantar fasciitis can be an ongoing issue. Porzingis posted that he already has had “several weeks of recovery.”
The World Cup begins Aug. 25 in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Boston acquired Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a three-team trade in June. The Celtics, who sent defensive specialist Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies in the deal, added the 7-foot-3 Porzingis after coming within one game of the NBA Finals. Porzingis averaged a career-high 23.2 points per game along with 8.4 rebounds last season in Washington. Football: Former NFL RB Alex Collins, who played five seasons for the Seahawks and Ravens, was killed in a motorcycle crash in South Florida on Sunday night. He was 28. Collins was driving a motorcycle that crashed into a sport-utility vehicle. Collins starred in college at Arkansas, rushing for 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons. Soccer: Neymar completed his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Al Hilal of the Saudi Pro League. Al Hilal agreed to a reported 90 million euros ($98 million) transfer fee with PSG. The fee is a record for the league. Neymar signed a two-year contract expected to pay the 31-year-old Brazilian an annual salary of about $100 million. That would be around half of the 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo’s reported salary with Al Nassr.
Tennis: Three-time Grand Slam champ Andy Murray pulled out of the Western & Southern Open outside Cincinnati with an abdominal strain. The 36-year-old continues to recover from the injury as he prepares to compete in the U.S. Open that begins later this month in New York. Murray withdrew from last week’s Canadian Open before his round of 16 match with eventual champion Jannik Sinner due to the strain.