The Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors are in the middle of a competitive battle on ESPN. The Celtics are playing in front of a packed crowd at home against a Warriors team without Steph Curry due to injury.
Another popular name, Kristaps Porzingis, is back at TD Garden after playing two incredible seasons with the Celtics in Beantown. Porzingis was traded to the Atlanta Hawks last offseason, and then the Hawks ultimately traded him to the Warriors before the NBA trade deadline. It's Porzingis' first game back, so the Celtics gave him an emotional tribute video.
Celtics tribute video for Kristaps Porzingis 🙌
(via @danield1214) pic.twitter.com/8bhBguM1ik
- ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 18 March 2026
The Celtics can't win the NBA Finals without Porzingis in 2023-24. His ability to stretch the field and play elite defense was a big part of why Boston was so dominant during that championship run. Remember the first game of the Finals, when Porzingis couldn't miss a shot in the first quarter? He scored 20 points off the bench in the game, along with six rebounds and three blocks.
His time, as well as Jrue Holiday's, ended after last season when the Celtics lost to the New York Knicks in the quarterfinals of the NBA playoffs. Porzingis was not playing at the time as he was dealing with an undisclosed illness. The Celtics moved on, but they remained a very good team.
Boston is in second place in the conference, and if they beat the Warriors, they will be just 3.5 games behind the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the East.
