Following his huge night on Monday, Kristaps Porzingis was asked to share what his secret was to recording a career-high in points. He did not hesitate to speak about it and made it known that Kobe Bryant's famous “Mamba Mentality” helped him score almost at will during the game versus the Denver Nuggets.
Finishing with 38 points, on 14-of-26 shooting from the field, to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, and three blocks, the 7-foot-3 Latvian international powered the New York Knicks to their third straight victory. He then admitted, via The New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy, that he simply followed Bryant's aggressive ways.
“I watched a Kobe interview, the game he had 81, he said he never stopped to think, ‘Oh I got 50. I got 60.’ He just kept going,” Porzingis said. “That’s my mentality always. Whatever is going on I just keep being aggressive, keep playing my game, and once the game is over I check my stats.”
His teammate, Tim Hardaway Jr., talked about Kristaps Porzingis' unique skill set. He also added that the Knicks won't think twice about giving him the ball for as long as he continues to play like he did on the night.
Article Continues Below“I mean, he’s 7-3. What can you do, really?” Hardaway said. “He’s 7-3, can handle the ball, run the lane like a wing. You can’t really – I’m lost for words – you can’t really do much. Like I said, we’ll get the ball to the big man all the time as long as he’s producing like this. It was great to watch and be on the floor at the same time he’s doing it.”
Kristaps Porzingis is playing at a very high level this season, and so far has career best averages of 27.6 points and 8.6 rebounds, together with 1.4 blocks in 34.0 minutes per game. From starting the season 0-3, the Knicks are now back to .500, and are looking geared to win more in their coming matches.
This is certainly bad news for the rest of the competition, as Porzingis is exhibiting the same mentality that made Kobe Bryant one of the best scorers the game has ever seen, and at the pace he's currently in, even The Black Mamba will be very proud of him.