With the Wizards on the fringes of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt in the final weeks of the regular season, the club will gladly take all the contributions it can get the rest of the way, especially as it navigates one of the NBA’s most challenging schedules over that span.
That’s where Kristaps Porziņģis, the quietly improved star, comes in. At least that’s Washington’s hope, given his track record of injuries, and the team’s standing.
The Latvian hasn’t often played late into the season. He’s been involved in just two playoff series—one in 2021, and one in the ’20 bubble, in which he missed half the games. Putting postseason aside, Porziņģis has played in just 15 April regular-season games in his entire career—something explained by both the pandemic abruptly shutting things down three years ago, but also by his injuries, which have hampered his ability to make it through full seasons.
