A fairly private person, much like his fellow international players, there wasn’t much to know about Kristaps Porziņģis than the bare minimum. But in late 2021, the 28-year-old decided to regale the fans with a piece of sweet news. He was in a relationship. Part of the Mavericks squad at the time, KP6 shared adorable photos of his girlfriend, Laura Vizla, curled up in his arms.

Hailing from Riga, Latvia, Vizla is a woman of many interests. She initially studied music but found that dance was the one. Along with it, Laura also practiced rhythmic gymnastics. After her studies, Vizla decided to get into cheerleading. With her deep interest in music and dance, it was a no-brainer. Laura entered as a cheerleader for the VTB United League, a basketball league based in Europe. In addition, she had also worked for VEF Riga, a Latvian-based basketball club.

But if you were to check her Instagram now, you would find her bio as “everything fashion, beauty, and wellness.” It also mentions that her friends fondly call her ‘Tink’. Laura has already found success as a social media influencer; and why wouldn’t she? With a modeling career, Laura also has a taste for the finer things in life. The brands she has modeled for include top names like cosmetics firm Jo Malone and European perfume brand Crème de la Crème.

Not to mention, her Instagram account is dotted with wellness tips, workout videos, and photoshoots. Moreover, it’s also clear that she is an avid traveler. Laura’s Instagram Highlights showcase a pretty long list of them. Interestingly, Vezla has also tried her hand at acting. According to IMDB, she starred in a Latvian film, JVG Popiela, in 2018. Although photos showcasing Kristaps Porziņģis and Laura Vizla were initially posted, they seem to have since been deleted. That’s another indication the couple would like to keep their relationship away from public eyes for now. Hence, there hasn’t been a clear source as to how, where, or even when the two met.

But if various online sources are to be believed, the pair met in 2019. Although there might not be posts with the two of them, fans can get a glimpse of the lovebirds in some of the Instagram highlights. For example, Vizla’s ‘France’ highlight saw a photo that Kristaps had shared, likely as a story. The image showed their hotel bedroom, where Laura was lying down and Porzingis captioned it, “hotel made sure our bed was long enough,” followed by a laughing emoji. It’s clear that they are still going strong!

Now that we know everything there is to know about KP’s relationship, let’s take a quick look at other facets of his personal life.

Everything else about Kristaps Porziņģis

We don’t need to tell you again that the ‘Unicorn,’ as unique as he is, was and continues to be a favorite of injuries and illness. During his time with Sevilla, it didn’t matter what he did, Porzingis found himself exhausted. “I would run three times up and down the court in practice, and I would be dead tired. Not sweating at all. But dead tired, breathing like crazy,” Ian Begley of ABC News noted in 2016.

No one knew what was going on. The Sevilla coaches and management were very concerned. They had a talented prospect right there, but he could barely stand straight. After six months of going undiagnosed, the doctors at Sevilla finally found that he was suffering from anemia. After a successful diagnosis and treatment, his life took a turn for the better. Despite being booed during the draft night and tackled with injuries throughout his career, Kristaps Porziņģis is now a critical piece of a championship-contending team.

And just for that little fun fact – he was the first rookie to score 1,000+ points, grab 500+ rebounds, make 75+ 3-pointers, and record 100+ blocks. Born to parents who were basketball players, KP had started playing at the age of six. Tālis, his father, used to compete semi-professionally before becoming a bus driver.

As for his mother, Ingrīda, she was in Latvia women’s youth national basketball team. He was the youngest of three children. Porzingis’ oldest brother, Mārtiņš, and the second-oldest, Jānis, were both avid basketball players. While he seems to have a great relationship with both his brothers, it seems Kristaps is much closer (almost) to Jānis. For one, they were closer in age and he had more experience playing professionally. Jānis often was seen training his younger brother and more importantly, has become his agent.

But a lesser-known fact, perhaps, is that the Porzingis family had another son who was born four years before Kristaps. Named Toms, the family lost the young boy at 14 months old. This tragedy was divulged in an ESPN documentary, E:60. The family didn’t go into further details about the passing away, but KP’s mother said, “It felt like a bulldozer had run over my life. We had two other children who we had to care for. We had to live on. After Kristaps was born, it was like he had to live for two lives.”

Now, with all their sons grown up and with successful lives of their own, there is no doubt that their parents are as proud as they can be. And especially given that their youngest son is so close to getting his first NBA title!

But before you go, be sure to check this video of Leonardo Armato’s take on Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese.

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