Warriors coach Steve Kerr walks back comments on Kristaps Porzingis’ diagnosis
Steve Kerr acknowledged he misspoke when he challenged reports about Kristaps Porzingis’ postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome and said he regretted discussing the matter. The warriors coach said the health matter was beyond his expertise and deferred to medical professionals as Porzingis continued to miss games with a contagious illness.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr retracts radio remarks
Kerr described his earlier comments as a "stupid mistake" after telling a radio audience that Porzingis’ POTS diagnosis was "misinformation. " He said he had called Onsi Saleh, who formerly worked in Golden State’s front office and is now Atlanta’s general manager, to ask whether the diagnosis was accurate, and relayed that Saleh told him it was not POTS. Kerr later said he had no business discussing a medical diagnosis and called the matter "way beyond my capabilities of explaining. "
The coach made the statement after Porzingis was ruled out of a home game that followed the radio appearance; Kerr said the center had been contagious, losing "a lot" of fluids, and that the immediate illness was unrelated to whatever kept him out previously in Atlanta. Kerr also said he has not discussed the specifics of the prior diagnosis directly with Porzingis and declined to commit to the player’s status for the next game on Monday against the Clippers.
Porzingis’ availability and recent playing timeline
Porzingis missed his third consecutive game after being listed as questionable before the matchup with the Lakers, though Kerr said the 7-foot-2 center returned to practice on Friday and was feeling better. Since joining the team in a trade from Atlanta, Porzingis has been limited to 17 minutes in one contest. Last season he played 42 games with his previous team, with health issues that have included a diagnosis that can rapidly increase a patient’s heartbeat when standing upright; Porzingis has said doctors diagnosed him with POTS.
Kerr characterized the recent absence as an acute, contagious illness that caused dehydration-related symptoms, which he distinguished from the lingering medical condition that affected Porzingis’ availability last season. That distinction prompted Kerr’s earlier inquiry, the public remark on 95. 7 FM and the subsequent public retraction when he concluded he had overstepped.
What makes this notable is the rapid shift from a coach’s public skepticism to a full retraction and deference to clinicians, illustrating how quickly medical commentary from nonexperts can become a distraction for a team managing a high-profile roster move. The timing matters because Porzingis’ limited minutes since the trade and a string of missed games raise immediate roster and rotation questions for upcoming matchups.
Kerr’s reversal included an explicit acknowledgement of error—he called attempting to explain the diagnosis "a stupid mistake. " The coach said he regretted discussing the diagnosis and that those matters should be left to professionals. Porzingis’ progress toward game readiness will be monitored in practice, and the team has not announced further medical updates beyond his return to practice and the coach’s statement.
The sequence—radio comment, explanation involving a former front-office colleague, and a public walk-back—constitutes an official action by the coach to correct his earlier assertion. That action both removed an unverified claim from the team dialogue and shifted focus back to the player’s current health status as the immediate determinant of his availability.
