Kristaps Porzingis Is Out Indefinitely and Al Horford Is Golden State's Starting Center for Now

Kristaps Porzingis did not make the trip to Hawaii. Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. announced at media day that the center is out indefinitely with an undisclosed health issue that was reported to the team on Sunday, and Porzingis stayed behind when Golden State opened camp on the BYU-Hawaii campus. He will miss at least the first four practices and the preseason opener against the Clippers in Honolulu on Sunday, Oct. 4.

The organization has tried to keep the tone measured. Dunleavy said he was not marking Porzingis down as out for the start of the season, only that he was unavailable this week, and that it was too early to overreact. Steve Kerr said on Tuesday that he views Porzingis as day-to-day, while acknowledging he had not received any update on his condition. The Warriors have not said whether this is connected to the condition that has followed him for more than a year.

Why this one is hard to handicap

The concern is the history, not the headline. Porzingis has missed a combined 90 regular-season games over the last two seasons, mostly because of a lingering health problem that surfaced after a prolonged upper respiratory viral illness during his time in Boston in late February 2025. It has never been a clean injury with a clean timeline, and the current absence comes with even less information.

That pattern is what separates this from a routine camp scratch. A sprained ankle has a recovery window. An undisclosed illness on a player with this history does not, and the Warriors, by design, have not provided one. Golden State acquired Porzingis at last season's trade deadline and re-signed him this summer to be the stretch big at the center of its offense, so the absence also cuts directly into the scheme Kerr wants to run.

Kerr's five-out plan without the five

Kerr was adamant on the first day of camp that the Warriors will play more five-out offense this season. Porzingis was the ideal fit for that approach as a seven-footer who can shoot from deep and protect the rim. Without him, the Warriors are preparing their other bigs to stretch the floor.

Al Horford, now 40, is the most likely starting center while Porzingis is out, with Charles Bassey behind him. Horford has publicly preached patience about Porzingis' situation. He can still space the floor and defend in a starting role for stretches, but a full starter's workload at his age is not a sustainable plan for weeks on end. The other option is Draymond Green at center, which unlocks the smallest and fastest version of the five-out look but adds wear to a 36-year-old the team is trying to manage over a long season.

The rest of the injury board

Porzingis is not the only rotation piece missing. Jimmy Butler tore his ACL on Jan. 19 and is limited to light on-court work, with the Warriors hoping to activate him early in 2027 with no guarantees. Moses Moody is rehabbing a ruptured left patellar tendon that ended his season in late March, and the team hopes he can return around January or February.

The good news is Stephen Curry. After the first practice in Hawaii, Curry said his knee feels great and he has no issues. He missed 27 games last season with patellofemoral pain syndrome, and the expectation is that he will sit some games, especially back-to-backs, as part of a management plan rather than a restriction.

Fantasy fallout

Kristaps Porzingis drops to a late-round, high-variance pick. When he plays, his blend of threes and blocks is rare at center. The problem is that there is no information to price the downside, and his recent availability suggests managers should assume meaningful missed time. Draft him as a bench stash, not a starting center.

Al Horford is the short-term winner and a viable late pick in deeper leagues. A starting role in a five-out system gives him a path to threes, blocks and steady rebounds, but expect the Warriors to cap his minutes. He is a streaming center, not a weekly anchor.

Draymond Green gets a small bump in category leagues if Kerr leans on small lineups, since more time at center typically means more rebounds and defensive stats. Charles Bassey is a deep-league blocks speculation only if Horford's minutes are limited.

Stephen Curry stays an early-round pick, but managers should bake in planned rest days. With Porzingis, Butler and Moody all out, Curry's usage could climb early in the season, which partially offsets the missed games.

What to do in your league

In drafts this weekend, let someone else take on Porzingis at his old price and target him only once the clearer centers are gone. If you need a late center, Horford is a reasonable stopgap who carries little draft cost and will likely be on waivers again if Porzingis returns quickly. In dynasty or keeper formats, this is not a sell-low moment yet, since the Warriors have not ruled him out for opening night.

For bettors, Golden State's early-season games carry more uncertainty than usual with three rotation players unavailable and a 38-year-old star on a rest plan. Check late injury news before backing the Warriors, and track Verdexed's game probabilities at /nba/predictions once the regular season begins.

What's next

The next real checkpoint is the Clippers game in Honolulu on Sunday. Porzingis will not play, so the focus shifts to who starts at center and how Kerr divides minutes between Horford, Green and Bassey. Any update from Dunleavy or Kerr on whether Porzingis has rejoined team activities after camp would be the first sign of his opening night status. Until then, treat him as unavailable and plan your center depth accordingly.