New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis is a lot of things. He’s the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, he’s the new hope for the Knicks and he’s a 19 year-old kid going to the number one media market in the NBA with the hopes of an entire fan base on his shoulders. No pressure or anything.
Few have been able to identify Porzingis as one type of player. He’s slow but he’s athletic, he’s weak compared to other big men but he’s a good rim protector and he can shoot from everywhere on the floor but he’s slow to move around the court.
Kristaps is certainly a lot of things and according to Knicks associate coach Kurt Rambis, Kristaps Porzingis is a mix of a few legendary European big men.
Following from Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Perhaps the most successful European big men in recent times are Gasol, whom Rambis coached, and Nowitzki.
“He might be a combination of both of them,’’ Rambis said. ‘He can do so many things. You guys haven’t seen it yet. And some of it won’t come out for three, four, five years either. He’s got to grow up, mature, develop, get stronger and [get] used to the NBA game. He already understands basketball and knows what to do, and he’s an unselfish player. He makes really good decisions. It wasn’t like he was a blank slate coming here.’’
Aside from his intensive work ethic, Porzingis also has an unprecedented gift.
“He’s got 3-point range — like effortless 3-point range, too,’’ Rambis said. “It’s not even hard for him to shoot for distance.’’
The idea of Kristaps getting compared to quite possibly two of the best European talents is a tall task for Porzingis to live up to. He’s very, very raw as a player and who knows how his skills will translate into the NBA in his first year. Carmelo Anthony has high hopes for the young player and he’s been working out with him, trying to perfect his craft but where will Porzingis fit in his first season with the Knicks? Will he start? No one quite yet knows.
Best case scenario for Kristaps first year is that his rookie year in the NBA can fall somewhere in the middle of Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol. Pau averaged 17 points per game and 9 rebounds per game in his first season but Dirk scored only 8 points per game and 3 rebounds. Hopefully for the Knicks, Kristaps can get some great numbers.
