Knicks Insider: Kristaps Porzingis Ready to Fast-Track Superstar Status

NEW YORK — Forget, for a moment, all the talk about triangles. Toss away that Medicine for Dummies book and quit delving into the injury histories of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

The Knicks are not winning a championship this season.

There, it’s been said. Any talk about the team’s prospects for the upcoming year is nothing more than a distraction from what really matters: the continued development and ascension of Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis is the most exciting prospect the Knicks have had since Patrick Ewing, an otherworldly talent seemingly designed in a factory for the era of small ball. A basketball unicorn, to quote Kevin Durant.

It’s not just the stuffed stat sheets, though it’s worth taking a moment to highlight those as well: Porzingis averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last season. He became the only rookie in NBA history to score more than 1,000 points, grab over 500 rebounds, hit over 75 three-pointers and block over 100 shots in a season (via Basketball Reference), too.

All as a rail-thin 20-year-old kid (he turned 21 in August) in a hostile and unwelcoming market (remember this young Knicks fan?), forced to go up against stronger and more seasoned men.

Porzingis’ combination of size (7’3” with a 7’6” wingspan) and skills is literally one the league has never seen before. The hype around him is all warranted.

He can space the floor on offense and protect the paint on defense (according to NBA.com, opponents shot just 47 percent at the rim last season against Porzingis, a number right in line with many of the league’s top shot blockers). 

Kristaps Porzingis with the block!