What Does The Latest Absence Of Center Kristaps Porzingis Mean For The Atlanta Hawks?

Coming into the season, it was widely expected that Kristaps Porzingis wasn't going to suit up for 82 games. It would have been a miracle if he even suited up for 65 games. However, recent reporting from ESPN's Shams Charania suggests that the Hawks are going to be without Porzingis for a significant period of time.

Atlanta Hawks C/F Kristaps Porzingis (illness) will miss the next two weeks and undergo further evaluations, sources tell ESPN. Both sides are prioritizing the long term of the season for Porzingis, who has missed seven of the last eight games.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 14, 2025

Per Charania, Porzingis is going to be out for at least the next two weeks and might be out for longer depending on the results of his evaluation. His struggle with durability has been attributed to POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Fred Katz of the Athletic reported on this earlier in the year and it essentially means that Porzingis' heart rate can dramatically speed up when he's standing up. It can be managed with rest and dieting, but he will need to be careful with his appearances throughout the regular season. If he plays too much, he will be too fatigued in order to make any sort of impact for the Hawks in the postseason.

Porzingis was diagnosed with the autonomic condition, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), last season in Boston. He and doctors found solutions over the summer to manage his health and he entered the Hawks season in good condition -- before recent bout of illness. https://t.co/Uk5Fc7Hz2S
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 14, 2025

From this report, it sounds like Porzingis is suffering through a setback with his condition. His recovery timeline is uncertain, but it certainly looks like he can't be counted on as a major factor in the regular season. So far, he's played in 13 games out of a possible 26. If that trend holds, he'll likely play about 40-45 games in the regular season. That would be around how many he played last season for the Celtics. It isn't exactly a surprise that Porzingis will miss significant time this year, but the amount of games is somewhat easier to predict with this recent news. Regardless of whether he comes back in two weeks or if he only comes back towards the end of the season, there will be significant impacts for the Hawks in both the present and the future.

Short-Term Impact

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, Okongwu, Onyeka Okongwyu, NBA — Dec 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) drives on Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Fortunately, the Hawks are better poised to handle his absence than most teams would be. Onyeka Okongwu is very capable of stepping into a starter's role - he has started the last seven games for the Hawks and also started all of their games in the second half of last season. Atlanta also has Mo Gueye as a reserve, who is another capable option at center.

With Porzingis as a starter, the Hawks have gone 6-6 this season. They were hardly unbeatable in the games he started and furthermore, Okongwu has been solid in the games that he's started. Through the 14 games he's started in, the former 6th overall pick has averaged 17.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 58.8 TS%. He's shown progress as a jump shooter, hitting a career-high 34.6% of his threes while taking 5.1 of them a game. However, the Hawks will still miss what Porzingis provides.

The problem with Okongwu as a full-time starter is that the Hawks haven't been very good with him on the court. He has a +/- of -3.6 on the season and they're 11.7 points worse on offense per 100 possessions. The defense has been passable with him on the floor, surrendering 2.5 fewer points. Furthermore, he doesn't significantly improve either Jalen Johnson or Nickeil Alexander-Walker's numbers in his minutes.

Porzingis' defense has taken a big step back, but he's clearly still capable of providing elite offensive impact. The Hawks' offense is 9.2 points better with him on the floor and they turn the ball over significantly less. This likely has something to do with his ability to space the floor and even do a little bit of creation for himself, which Okongwu does not really have. The defense is much worse - the Hawks give up 4.9 more points per 100 possessions with him on the court. Even so, the Hawks are certainly going to miss what he provides in the short-term on offense.

Long-Term Impact

Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, NBA, Spurs, Porzingis, Kristaps Porzingi — Nov 20, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Atlanta Hawks player Kristaps Porzingis (8) posts up against San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

In terms of the long-term effects on Atlanta's season, I would argue that this might actually help the Hawks finish in a better spot at the end of the year. Porzingis can use this time off in order to get back into playing shape rather than being in and out of the lineup. With the time off, the Hawks can figure out what they have in players like Gueye and possibly even rookie Asa Newell. Right now, Atlanta is 9th in the Eastern Conference, but they should be getting Trae Young back soon and the rest of their starting five is intact.

As long as the Hawks can stay between the 6th-9th seed over the next month, they'll be in a good position to welcome a (hopefully) healthier version of Porzingis back into the lineup. Even if he continues to not play in back-to-backs, he'll still be a valuable rotation player for the Hawks and they can trade him this season if they really need to because his contract expires at the end of this season.

The worst possible scenario is that he comes back from this extended break without any improvement in his symptom and it depresses his value to the point where he's unable to make a difference for the Hawks and no one wants to take on his contract. It's certainly possible that could happen.

Fortunately, this isn't currently a season-ending problem for Porzingis and the Hawks should be able to get him back sometime this year. The more important task is gaining some ground in the Eastern Conference so that he can be the piece that pushes them over the edge of the playoff race.