Kristaps Porzingis made his first return to TD Garden as an opposing player Wednesday morning, since being traded this past offseason to the Atlanta Hawks.
The seven-footer, who is now with the Golden State Warriors following being traded again last month, spoke to the media following team shootaround at the Garden about how weird it felt to wear another color uniform that wasn't green and how he missed exploring the city of Boston.
"There were a lot of small moments, even outside of basketball. Just being in the city, having my little spots to go for coffee, just overall, my life here in Boston I really enjoyed it," he told reporters. "Basketball was pretty stressful here, I'm not going to lie. But, it comes with the territory. We wanted to win it all and we did it. I would say the whole package was just special."
While Porzingis has been battling a current knee injury since being dealt to the Warriors, he's still averaging 17.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 34.5% from 3-point range, despite only playing in 22 total games this season (17 with the Hawks), including three of Golden State's last four games.
"I'm getting a real good feeling about basketball again, which is the most important thing," Porzingis said. "Everything goes into second place when you're not feeling perfect. It's just natural to feel that way and now that I'm getting my legs back, getting into shape, it's a good reminder why I love this."
When asked about the Celtics most likely paying a tribute to him on the jumbotron during tonight's game, Porzingis said though he'd probably won't cry but there definitely will be many emotions felt -- especially since this was the place where he won his first championship back in 2024.
"Obviously loved my time here so much," he said. "Some good memories. Good, good memories. Just thinking about it now I get a good feeling."
On how the Celtics have been successful this season following all of the turnover during the summer and of course being without Jayson Tatum for the first 63 games, Porzingis called it a "good situation" to be in, especially when it comes to the younger players on the roster.
"Honestly, it was a good situation in the way of everybody said 'oh Celtics will be a lottery team,' this that and the other." Porzingis said. "I think, one -- it puts an extra motivation, gives you like a chip on your shoulder and two -- you have no expectation at the same time and that's like a perfect situation and they're kind of using that to the maximum.
"I think Joe [Mazzulla] has turned up a few more levels of craziness probably with the young guys. He's squeezing everything he can out of them and look at that group -- they're playing super well."
Porzingis mentioned how he still keeps in touch with his former Celtics teammates, even hanging out with them when they played against the Hawks in Atlanta earlier in the season, saying "we had a good time there." The former All-Star also said how impressed he's been with the return of Tatum, but not surprised with how soon he recovered from a torn Achilles given his work ethic.
"JT is a guy who can't sit still," Porzingis said. "He wanted to get back out there and I completely understand it because that was me last season. When I was coming back from the ankle [injury], it's so annoying to do the rehab workouts and push yourself that way. It's way more easier to push yourself when you actually get on the court, get the conditioning, get everything right and get your legs, maybe lose a couple of pounds...all of those things are a little bit easier.
"You want to be around the team, you want to be in the locker room preparing for the games, you want to do all of these things. I completely understand him, and I haven't checked yet, but I know he's probably playing good already. Knowing him and his work ethic and stuff, I'm sure he was super locked in with the rehab just to make sure he can come back as soon as possible. He didn't want to miss any good moments with the team, I'm 100% sure about that. JT is an animal and I for sure know he worked his ass off to get to this spot as soon as possible."
This will be the second time Porzingis has faced the Celtics this season, as his first meeting was also his first game as a Warrior -- in a 121-110 loss just after the All-Star break. He'll play in front of the same fans that cheered him for the past two seasons when the Celtics (45-23) host the Warriors (33-35) Wednesday night from TD Garden and ESPN has the tip-off at 7:00 pm ET.
Joel Pavón
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