Warriors welcome Kristaps Porzingis’ championship pedigree – NBC Sports Bay Area & California

PHOENIX – Standing on the TD Garden hardwood, home of the Boston Celtics, Kristaps Porzingis is wearing a WWE title belt across his waist before the team’s championship parade in June of 2024. A smiling Al Horford wears a cowboy hat on his head and an infamous picture of an intoxicated Tom Brady at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ championship parade across his chest on his shirt. 

Both players found new basketball homes this past offseason as the Celtics revamped their roster. Horford signed with the Warriors in NBA free agency, and Porzingis was traded to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-team deal in July. Fast forward seven months later and the two now are teammates on the Warriors, after Golden State acquired Porzingis from the Hawks for Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield late Wednesday night. 

There never was a second Horford envisioned playing on the same team as Porzingis again, but he sure is happy that’s his new reality. 

“It was special, it was just really fun,” Horford said of playing with Porzingis in Boston. “We all know everything he can do. He can shoot the three, can post up, draw fouls, kind of play the midrange offensively. He’s just very potent. Defensively, protects the rim. I’m just looking forward for him to be here and help us, because I feel like he’ll be a big help for us.” 

Horford texted with Porzingis after the news, and says the Warriors’ new addition is “pretty excited” and ready to join his new team. Porzingis will meet with the Warriors on Friday night in Los Angeles and will be introduced by the team to the media prior to Saturday night’s game against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. 

The question mark surrounding Porzingis, as it has been in the past, is health. Porzingis has played in just 17 games this season and hasn’t suited up since Jan. 7. The Warriors feel comfortable with his medicals and expect him to play soon, but not as soon as Saturday night. 

“I don’t think we would have made the trade if we didn’t think he could be healthy and consistent in terms of being in the lineup, so that’s the plan,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Oviously he’s got to get here and Rick [Celebrini] has got to work with him, but Rick and the staff did their due diligence. There’s a hope that we can really help him get right. 

“When he’s right, he’s a hell of a player. We’re looking at a guy who really fits what we need: Size, space, shooting, rim protection. Every team needs that, but we’ve always needed that since I’ve been here. We’ve never really had a player like him.” 

Standing 7-foot-2, Porzingis is one of the tallest current players in the NBA, as well as the history of the game. He’s shooting 36 percent from 3-point range this season, shot 41.2 percent last season and is a career 36.6 percent 3-point shooter. He has made at least one three in 14 of the 17 games he has played this season, and has at least one blocked shots in 11 games. 

The Warriors beat the Celtics over six games in the 2022 NBA Finals. Porzingis wasn’t part of those Celtics. He was busy averaging 20.1 points per game between the Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards. 

Between his size and court-changing presence on both ends, Draymond Green believes Porzingis was the added piece to put the Celtics back on top in 2024. 

“He was the missing piece to a Boston championship,” Green said. “When he was with that team, they were really, really tough to beat. I’m hoping he can bring some of that here. I like it. I think it’ll be a great fit.” 

Though the teams, seasons and situations aren’t the same, Horford believes from his own experience that Porzingis can bring the added dimensions he brought to Boston. 

“It’s totally different circumstances, the teams and everything, but I think for him it’s just to get comfortable here, to get acclimated with our group,” Horford said. “But right away, I mean, his impact is going to be felt. The guy can score the ball, can post, can draw fouls. I just feel like he will be in position to have some success.” 

Standing idle couldn’t have been an option for the Warriors once Jimmy Butler went down with a season-ending ACL tear. The Warriors went 2-5 after Butler’s injury before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, and before a wild comeback win later that night against the Phoenix Suns, followed by a loud locker-room celebration that easily could be heard from the postgame press conference. They fell flat in the latest chapter of chasing Giannis Antetokounmpo, yet life feels like it has been found again for a team that was reeling. 

Replacing Butler isn’t what Porzingis is here to do. The two are much different players. An element they share is a needed addition to the Warriors. 

“For us to have that weapon, especially with Jimmy going out – Jimmy, you switch onto Jimmy, we throw Jimmy the ball. It’s over,” Green said. “With Jimmy being out, to add someone that you can do that to in a different way, obviously he and Jimmy are two totally different players, but that thing in particular, to add someone where they get to switching and you can throw it in there and punish them, that changes the offense.”

Can Porzingis be the missing piece for the Warriors like he was for the Celtics two years ago? Highly unlikely. 

Being doubted, however, is a challenge the Warriors have always welcomed. 

“You just need a chance,” Green said. “If you give yourself a shot at it, we know how to do it. And I think that’s a skill that probably 97 percent of the NBA does not have. They don’t know how to do it. We actually know how. We just want to give ourselves a shot at it. 

“Last year, Steph [Curry] don’t go down, who knows what happens. We just want to give ourselves a chance. That’s the goal for the rest of this year.” 

Buckle up. A drive down Warriors Way nonetheless is nothing short of entertaining.

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