After the worst season in franchise history last year, as fans had to watch a team full NBA journeyman and unproven young players slog through a depressing 17-65 season, morale was low for the New York Knicks. There hopes and dreams for a brighter future were channeled into the Knicks lottery odds and opportunity to get the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
When the Lottery gods turned out to be against them and the Knicks fell from the second pick to the fourth pick, morale worsened and the Knicks faithful were distraught to find out they wouldn’t land one of the draft’s perceived big three in Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor and DeAngelo Russell.
Once draft night approached, aside from a number of rumors of Phil Jackson’s desire to trade the pick for a proven player such as Eric Bledsoe, momentum seemed to be building for the Knicks to take a raw, 19-year-old mystery player from Latvia: Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis was told to have a rare touch, athleticism and all-around ability for a 7’1″ player and was evoking the classic comparison to another highly skilled European big man: Dirk Nowitzki.
This is dangerous territory for any NBA team who falls in love with the 7’0″ skilled European prospect because for every Dirk or Pau Gasol, there seems to be 10 Jan Vesely, Andrea Bargnani or Nikoloz Tskitishvili’s which don’t seem to pan out or fully adjust to the NBA game.
Many Knicks fans were unhappy on draft night when instead of picking a more known commodity like Duke’s Justise Winslow or Detroit’s Stanley Johnson, the Knicks took a chance on Porzingis, leading to the boos from an MSG crowd.
Porzingis made it his mission to turn those boos into cheers:
“I mean, a lot of fans weren’t happy that they drafted me, but I have to do everything that’s in my hands to turn those booing fans into clapping fans.”
Porzingis, now 20, has been a revelation for the Knicks so far this season and had the best performance of his young career in Madison Square Garden last night as he had 29 points and 11 rebounds in a 103-95 win over the Hornets. He is one of only 21 players to accomplish that feat before their 21st birthday.
The MSG crowd was so elated by the success of their first round draft pick and budding star that the crowd was chanting his name, just like he envisioned.
Porzingis is averaging just under 13 points, eight rebounds and a block in 25 minutes per game for a much improved 6-6 Knicks team.
He is currently leading the team in rebounding and the Knicks outscore opponents by six points per 100 possessions when he is on the floor.
It is extremely early, but Kristaps possess the offensive skill set, knack for rebounding and toughness to dispel the stereotype of soft European players and be the best Knicks draft pick in almost 30 years.
The last true impact player for the Knicks franchise that they selected in the first round was Mark Jackson in 1987.
A lot of young players are swallowed by the heightened expectations of playing in the mecca of basketball but Porzingis seems to be embracing the opportunity thus far.
“I wanted to be in New York because I love pressure,” Porzingis told Yahoo Sports senior NBA writer Michael Lee. “I knew we could do big things here in the future. If you can succeed in New York, you can succeed anywhere.”
