As both are European seven-footers who are terrific shooters, Kristaps Porzingis has heard more than his share of Dirk Nowitzki comparisons. Of course, this isn’t a bad thing; Nowitzki is one of the best to ever play basketball, and Porzingis would surely be honored to have a career like the one that Nowitzki has had. Porzingis is embracing the comparisons and wants to learn from Nowitzki, per Al Iannazzone of NewsDay:
“Hopefully next summer, I’ll get a chance to work with Dirk and maybe I can learn from him, take a move from him,” Porzingis said. “We tried to do it this summer. It didn’t work out.”
First-year Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek thinks spending time with Nowitzki and emulating him would be a good move.
“We’re hoping that KP can get to that point where we can put him at that elbow and just ride him the whole game,” Hornacek said. “That’s a great guy for him to compare himself to and say, ‘Hey, I can learn from that guy.’ ”
Porzingis has another all-timer to learn from, this one on his team: Carmelo Anthony. Porzingis talked about learning under Anthony:
“That’s why I love to learn from Melo and be around him and see how he carries himself, the stuff he does on and off the court,” Porzingis said. “That’s how a real leader is supposed to be, that’s how the main person of the team needs to be. If I keep working hard, then I’m going to have the chance to be that guy in a few years.”
