The New York Knicks have nothing but high praise for their second year emerging star, Kristaps Porzingis.
He has been labeled as the unicorn by many in the league because he is such a rarity. He's a 7'3″ player who has tremendous range and can also put the ball on the floor, or beat you with a plethora of post moves. He is always there to pick up the slack for his teammates.
Carmelo Anthony had this to say about the young stud, per ESPN's Ian Begley.
“When he has it going, we want to go through that,” said Anthony, who called Porzingis' performance on Wednesday “brilliant.”
“I appreciate when he do have it going, then I can just kind of pick my spots on the court through the course of the game.”
On Wednesday's win, Anthony had 22 points on 17 shots. Derrick Rose added 15 points, Joakim Noah had 15 rebounds, and Brandon Jennings had seven assists.
Late in the game, the crowd at Madison Square Garden serenaded Porzingis with an “MVP” chant. The 21-year-old is already wise enough to dismiss such silliness though. It is rare to see such a strong reception for such a young player, but Porzingis definitely deserves it with how well he has been playing this season.
He is excellent at moving to the open spot on the floor and creating easy passing lanes for his teammates. Point guard Derrick Rose had this to say regarding his recent outing:
“It's kind of crazy,” Rose said. “… He's going out here scoring 30, and he really don't know the NBA yet. That's scary.”
Scary indeed is the right word. Timberwolves' big man Karl Anthony Towns has been noted as the best player from their draft class, receiving Rookie of the Year honors.
But it can be argued that Porzingis has a much higher ceiling than Towns and as long as he continues to work relentlessly on his skills and strength, he may very well be be the next face of the NBA as well as European NBA players, taking the torch from the legend, Dirk Nowitzki.
Follow Us
Subscribe