Kristaps Porzingis In Bloody Altercation, Mavericks Says Forward Was 'Jumped And Assaulted'

Dallas Mavericks star Kristaps Porzingis was involved in a bloody altercation in his hometown of Liepaja, Latvia, that left him with a bloody head and a torn shirt. The incident occurred at a club while the NBA star was supposedly celebrating some occasion at various clubs around town.

TMZ reported Porzingis was attacked by a group of Russians, who were supposedly unhappy with the fact that the Latvian changed clubs midway through the season. He was traded by the New York Knicks to the Mavericks prior to the Feb. 7 trade deadline after it became clear he was unhappy and unlikely to sign a new contract.

The altercation seemed to have been pretty violent after a video that caught the aftermath of the fight showed Porzingis in a pretty bad condition. He was also clearly not ready to back down despite bleeding from the head, as he continued to charge toward the alleged assailants but was told to calm down by a police officers and other people on the scene.

The Mavericks acknowledged the incident and were ascertaining the details about why the fight broke out, but the initial understanding was that Porzingis was “jumped and assaulted” outside a club in Liepaja.

"It is our understanding that Kristaps was jumped and assaulted outside of a club in Latvia. We will provide an update when one is available," the Mavericks said in a statement, as quoted on ESPN. The NBA was also looking into it, with a spokesperson confirming it was gathering information with regards to the incident.

Porzingis has not played basketball since suffering a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) last year. He sat out the entire 2018-19 campaign, but has been given the medical clearance to return to the court.