After a dismal season for the New York Knicks last year, things seem to be on the upside for the first time in over a decade. In Phil Jackson‘s first season as President of Basketball Operations in New York, the team struggled mightly and only pulled out 17 wins for the whole year. The upside t0 all this: The Knicks landed the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft. The Knicks were a franchise desperate for a hero, someone that could save them from the years of mediocrity. And that someone is Latvian prodigy Kristaps Porzingis.
Kristaps Porzingis is the Real Deal
The Good Kid in the Mad City
Kristaps Porzingis is bringing a new brand of basketball stardom to the NBA and is the future of the New York Knicks organization. He’s the good kid in the mad city. The 7’3″ power forward stormed onto the basketball scene this season. People wanted to hate him and for Phil Jackson’s gamble to take the unknown Latvian assassin to flop. As the Knicks endured their worst season in franchise history (17-65), Gotham City screamed for the Knicks to take Duke center Jahlil Okafor. They trademarked the slogan “Tank for Okafor”. Okafor seemed like the clear cut best player in the draft, coming off a National Championship at Duke.
The dream to bring the big man to the Mecca became just that, a dream, when the Knicks were awarded the fourth pick in the draft. As it became more and more evident that the Minnesota Timberwolves would take Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns, the hopes of bringing Okafor to New York rose again. Then, just like that, they were crushed when the Philadelphia 76ers took the Duke star at number three. Now, the Knicks options were limited. The top three prospects (Towns, Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell) were now all off the table.
It seemed like the Knicks would have two viable options here. Either take Emmanuel Mudiay, the point guard from the Congo, or Duke forward Justice Winslow, to compliment Carmelo Anthony. Instead, Phil Jackson would play a wildcard. He would gamble on taking Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis, unproven, got quite the reaction. Boos cast toward the 19-year-old were heard around the world. Phil, who had already led the Knicks to a franchise worst season, might have just made the ultimate mistake.
Zen Master Strikes Gold
Despite what the media led many to believe, Phil Jackson knew what he is doing. Picking Porzingis was no mistake, and Porzingis was not a three-year project that people believed he would be. Porzingis was dominating the hardwood by his first game in the league, and it was evident across the association. Porzingis showed he was very capable of scoring inside, outside, and everywhere in between.
Even though he was undersized (weight, not height), he wasn’t afraid to body up the league’s best big men. And he wasn’t just boxing them out. He was rising up and dunking on them. He wasn’t afraid to get in faces if need be, i.e. Kent Bazemore and Jason Smith. The maturity right from the get-go was massive. Not to mention going through a head coaching change midway through the year (Derek Fisher to Kurt Rambis). Although he maybe wasn’t as impressive as Karl-Anthony Towns, he showed he will be a force in the league for years to come.
Numbers Don’t Lie
The ‘Zinger’ had an impressive stat line, as seen below. These stats are per game, courtesy of basketball-reference.com.
| Season | Age | Tm | Lg | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 20 | NYK | NBA | PF | 72 | 72 | 28.4 | 5.2 | 12.3 | .421 | 1.1 | 3.4 | .333 | 4.1 | 8.9 | .454 | .467 | 2.8 | 3.3 | .838 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 14.3 |
| Career | NBA | 72 | 72 | 28.4 | 5.2 | 12.3 | .421 | 1.1 | 3.4 | .333 | 4.1 | 8.9 | .454 | .467 | 2.8 | 3.3 | .838 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 14.3 |
