The Latvian men's basketball team will play its August matches in the qualification for the 2027 World Cup without one of its leaders. Kristaps Porziņģis will not join the national team, reports Sportacentrs.com. According to the publication, the reason is the plans of the NBA club Golden State Warriors, which did not agree to the basketball player's participation in the national team's matches during the preparation for the new season. At the end of June, Porziņģis signed a new two-year contract with the Warriors. After changing clubs, the team's priority became preparing the player for the start of the NBA season. The past season was the 31-year-old Latvian's tenth in the strongest basketball league in the world. He started it with the Atlanta Hawks and was then traded to the Golden State Warriors. In total, Porziņģis played 32 games during the season — 17 with the Hawks and 15 with the Warriors. On average, he scored 16.7 points per game, grabbed 5.2 rebounds, provided 2.5 assists, and made 1.2 blocks. In the play-in tournament matches, the Latvian center recorded 20 and 11 points, but the Warriors lost the second game and failed to reach the playoffs. Porziņģis's absence will be a serious loss for the Latvian national team, as he remains one of the key players on the team. In such situations, NBA clubs often limit their basketball players' participation in national team matches, especially before the start of the new season. In August, the Latvian team will play two matches in the second stage of the World Cup qualification. First, the national team will play away against Croatia, and then host the team from Israel at home.