The NBA’s premier unicorn is a bit elusive these days. That’s because New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis is away from the media frenzy of the Big Apple. He’s currently across the pond, in Madrid, Spain in particular, where he’s working on getting his body back to 100 percent after suffering a season-ending knee injury back in February.

Porzingis recently found time between his busy schedule to sit down and talk with The Players’ Tribune in which he discussed how his rehabilitation is going. One interesting point Porzingis noted during the interview was why he chose Madrid as the location where he would spend the time to recuperate from his injury this summer.

“The main reason why I wanted to be here in Madrid was to be able to use the Real Madrid facilities, which are one of the best in the world, if not the best. Here we have everything, everything we need.”

https://twitter.com/PlayersTribune/status/1022104196047224832

He’s likely talking about the same facilities that players of La Liga football team Real Madrid are using.

If anything, people might be more intrigued by his decision to be this far away from the Knicks. Then again, Spain is closer to his native country of Latvia and the proximity to his home and the top-notch facilities are fair reasons for him to spend his summer there instead.

Porzingis has a year left on his contract before becoming a restricted free agent in 2019. The Knicks are reportedly unlikely to offer him an extension this summer, though, the plan is to put one on his table next year, when more money is available for New York to spend.

Kristaps Porzingis appeared in just 48 games last season, as his campaign was cut short by an ACL injury. He finished the 2017-18 campaign with averages of 22.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.