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Kristaps Porziņģis

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Kristaps Porziņģis
Porziņģis during the 2015 NBA Summer League
No. 6 – New York Knicks
PositionPower forward / Center
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1995-08-02) August 2, 1995 (age 29)
Liepāja, Latvia
NationalityLatvian
Listed height7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
NBA draft2015: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the New York Knicks
Playing career2011–present
Career history
2011–2015Baloncesto Sevilla
2011–2012→Sevilla B
2015–presentNew York Knicks
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvian pronunciation: ['kris.taps 'pʊ͡ɔr.ziɲ.ɟis]; born August 2, 1995) is a Latvian professional basketball player who currently plays for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Knicks with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 NBA draft. Standing 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), he plays the power forward and center positions. While being brought up in Liepāja, Latvia, Porziņģis started out his career with youth teams in his hometown before trying out and making the Baloncesto Sevilla youth squads. Following multiple years with the junior teams of Sevilla and representing them in Nike International Junior Tournaments, he was promoted to the senior squad. Porziņģis competed with the Latvia youth national team at the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship.

Early career

Porziņģis followed his parents' footsteps and started to play basketball at age 6. He played in youth competition with BK Liepājas Lauvas, the most famous club based in hometown of Liepāja, until he was 15 years old. An agent from Latvia sent video of him around this time to teams in Spain and Italy.[1] In 2010, Baloncesto Sevilla, a club that had a professional team competing in the Liga ACB in Spain, called Porziņģis for a tryout in an attempt to recruit foreign talent to its junior squads. He stood 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) and weighed 157 lbs (71 kg) at this time.[1][2] Porziņģis recalled the moment and said, "I came here with my brother for two or three days, but it was really hot and I couldn't play at my best because of that. Still, I received a contract in summer 2010 and I signed it."[1] Inmaculada Avivar, a nutritionist for Sevilla, diagnosed that Porziņģis was suffering from anemia, meaning that he had fewer red blood cells.[3] This caused him to feel fatigue, shortness of breath, and inability to exercise. Nevertheless, he gradually overcame the condition and began seeing improvement in his game.[1] In addition to his medical problems, Porziņģis had trouble picking up the language in Seville, making him reluctant to return there after his first tryout. In his first season playing for the junior squad, he struggled to communicate with the coaching staff and his teammates and was often sleepy due to his health.[1]

Porziņģis debuted for the youth squad on January 4, 2012 against its counterpart from Barcelona, adding 12 points and 10 rebounds. The opposing side was led by Alexandr Zhigulin, who would go on to enter the 2015 NBA draft and withdraw.[4] However, Sevilla was heavily defeated, 56-75.[5] This game was part of the Ciutat de L'Hospitalet tournament, which led up to the Nike International Junior Tournament (NIJT).[1] On January 5, he scored a personal best of 16 points on the Spars Sarajevo youth squad, helping Sevilla beat their opponents by a margin of 8 points.[6] Porziņģis said, "I knew it was a prestigious tournament and that I had to do well," he said. "I think I could have done much better, but I wasn't physically 100 percent. I have seen videos and could have been much more aggressive. But I wish I could have played better."[1] He finished the tournament averaging 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.[1] Porziņģis represented the Sevilla junior team again at the same tournament in early 2013. Against Union Olimpija on January 4, he recorded 15 points and 6 rebounds.[7] On January 6, in the team's tournament finale vs Real Madrid's youth squad, he scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also made a total of five three-pointers.[8] Porziņģis proved to be more effective in his second year, averaging 16.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks and going .481 on three-pointers.[1] This would be his final stint in the youth categories of Sevilla.

Professional career

Cajasol Sevilla (2012–2015)

Porziņģis with Cajasol Sevilla in 2014

Entering the 2012–13 ACB season, Cajasol Sevilla had hired Aíto García Reneses, who previously worked with the likes of Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, and Rudy Fernández.[1] On September 29, 2012, Porziņģis got the opportunity to make an appearance with the club's first team, but was allowed to play just a minute. Sevilla took a tremendous loss to CB Murcia.[9] Following a return to the youth categories of the club at the Torneig de Bàsquet Junior Ciutat de L'Hospitalet, he went back to competing for the senior squad. On January 16, 2013, he logged only four minutes against BC Spartak Saint Petersburg in the Eurocup, scoring no points, but contributing one rebound and one assist.[10] He scored his first basket for the senior team on February 20, 2013, in a rematch with Spartak. Porziņģis said, "I was very nervous at the beginning: I wanted to do well and not pick up turnovers. At the same time, I got a lot of confidence with players of my same age. That allowed me to play better with the first team and practice with more confidence."[1] On May 4, 2013, he posted a season-high 7 points with the senior team, hitting two of three shots vs Bilbao Basket in ACB competition.[11]

Porziņģis opened his second season on Sevilla's main squad strong in his third game against the Euroleague team Laboral Kutxa, leading them to a 20-point ACB victory on November 2, 2013.[1] He notched a career-high 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocks.[12] He broke his scoring record once more against Real Madrid on November 30, 2013, nearly leading his team to a victory.[1][12] Against the very same team on April 6, 2014, Porziņģis scored a career-high 20 points, nailing 2 three-pointers.[12] Despite his team losing, he began to trend on social media because of his performance. He said, "It was a very good game for me on offense. I didn't get any rebounds in that game. I had a good shooting night, but could have helped more on defense. Still, fans in Madrid gave me a nice ovation when I fouled out and I liked that a lot."[1] On May 25, he got the chance to face his idol Justin Doellman of Barcelona, who he called the "best power forward in Spanish basketball". He scored 14 points on Doellman's team.[1][12] On May 2014, Porziņģis was selected in the ACB All-Young Players Team of the 2013–14 season.[13]

Prior to the 2014–15 ACB season, head coach Aíto García Reneses parted ways with the Sevilla.[14] On October 4, 2014, against CB 1939 Canarias, Porziņģis made his season debut, scoring 3 points throughout the game. He made his first appearance at the 2014–15 Eurocup on October 15, vs. EWE Baskets Oldenburg and scored just 2 points. However, he had a strong Eurocup performance against Pallacanestro Virtus Roma in the weeks that followed, in which he contributed 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. He recorded a double-double in mid-November in a win over Estudiantes, adding 11 points and 11 rebounds. On February 11, 2015, he scored a season-high 19 points on the Eurocup's Turów Zgorzelec. He tied this record on April 18, 2015, vs. Bàsquet Manresa in the ACB.[15] On April 15, 2015, Porziņģis was named the winner of the Eurocup Rising Star Award of the season.[16] One month later, he repeated in the ACB All-Young Players Team, after avoiding the relegation with Baloncesto Sevilla.[17]

NBA draft

On April 28, 2014, Porziņģis declared himself eligible for the 2014 NBA draft.[18] Before and after he made the decision, he drew interest from National Basketball Association (NBA) teams such as the Orlando Magic, who held the 12th overall pick, and traveled to Europe to scout him. The Oklahoma City Thunder reportedly were certainly going to select him with the 21st pick in the case that he remained. Porziņģis was considered an unfinished product and a top-15 draft pick. According to DraftExpress.com, he was the fourth-youngest prospect in their top-100 rankings.[2][19] Shortly before the day of the draft, however, he withdrew his name. Porziņģis's agent Andy Miller released the information to ESPN, saying that his client did not feel prepared to become a part of the NBA and wanted to develop his skills until the 2015 draft. One of the league's general managers commented on him, "He's very talented. He wasn't ready, but we would've seriously considered drafting him anyway. If he continues to develop his game, get more minutes and his body develops, I think he could be a top-five pick in 2015. He has that kind of talent."[20]

On April 16, 2015, Porziņģis entered the 2015 NBA draft, according to a report from agent Andy Miller.[21] After gaining a season more of experience, he became known as a lottery pick and a potential top-5 selection. He drew interest from teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, who had the No. 2 pick and had several personnel that had seen Porziņģis play in Spain.[22] He was compared with players such as Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki, but also Darko Miličić, a former lottery selection widely considered a draft bust.[23] Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote, "Porziņģis has an innate awareness about the way the American public sees a young, long European teenager. He comes to the NBA with the full understanding that popular basketball culture declares him guilty until proven innocent of the basketball crimes of Darko Miličić and Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Andrea Bargnani. He's considered a stiff, a bust, a blown lottery pick until he doesn't become one..."[24]

On June 25, 2015, Porziņģis was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the New York Knicks.[25][26] He was booed by the New York crowd upon being drafted, but vowed to change the fans' opinions on him from negative to positive.[27] On the same night, the New York Knicks traded for Porziņģis' teammate from Sevilla, Guillermo Hernangómez, who was originally drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers as a 35th overall pick.[28] Porziņģis became the highest drafted Latvian (and from Baltic states) in NBA history.

New York Knicks (2015–present)

On July 30, 2015, Porziņģis signed his rookie scale contract with the Knicks.[29] In four Summer League games with the Knicks, Porziņģis averaged 10.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.[30]

International career

Porziņģis played with the Latvian youth team and was selected in the 2013 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship All-Team.

Player profile

Porziņģis has been strongly compared to Pau Gasol, but has been even more praised than the NBA player in terms of athleticism. A general manager in the NBA commented on Porziņģis's 2015 NBA draft prospect, saying, "I've been asking my team since then: Are you sure he's not the No. 1 guy? Are these guys in college really better than him?"[31]

Personal

Porziņģis was born on August 2, 1995 in Liepāja, Latvia to parents that had experienced playing the game of basketball. Tālis, his father, competed semi-professionally before becoming a bus driver. His mother, Ingrīda, was previously on Latvia women's youth national basketball team.[32] Kristaps's older brother Jānis, who is about thirteen years older than him, also played,[1] while Mārtiņš, who is approximately fifteen years older than his youngest sibling, was also an avid player.[32]

Jānis Porziņģis competed at the Eurocup level before Kristaps and had played European basketball for more than 10 years. He is known to mentor his younger brother on and off the court and often called him after playing games for Cajasol Sevilla in Spain. Kristaps talked about the relationship in an interview, "We'd break down the details. We watched the film together. He’s always pushing me to work hard. We just spend a lot of time together and we just talk about basketball all the time..."[33] The elder Porziņģis helped him train in the summer and work out in the gym in preparation for international competition in 2012.[1]

Following two seasons in Spain and almost two years living in Seville, Porziņģis supposedly spoke Spanish far more fluently. He knew little of the language before joining Cajasol Sevilla, but knew how to speak English since his childhood. At 19 years old, Porziņģis is fluent in three different languages.[1] An executive said, "He speaks great English and I don't see it being that difficult of a transition off the court."[34]

Off the court, Porziņģis supports his hometown team FK Liepāja, as well as Real Madrid CF and Sevilla FC.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Kristaps Porzingis, Baloncesto Seville". Eurocupbasketball.com. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Kristaps Porzingis". Draft Express. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  3. ^ "Anemia". http://www.merriam-webster.com/. Retrieved 7 July 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  4. ^ "Alexandr Zhigulin Player Profile". RealGM. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  5. ^ "FC Barcelona Regal Junior Team 75, Cajasol Seville Junior Team 56". RealGM. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  6. ^ "Cajasol Seville Junior Team 80, KK Spars Junior Team 72". RealGM. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  7. ^ "Union Olimpija Junior Team 70, Cajasol Seville Junior Team 78". RealGM. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  8. ^ "Cajasol Seville Junior Team 66, Real Madrid Junior Team 72". RealGM. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  9. ^ "Universidad Catolica De Murcia CB 93, Baloncesto Sevilla 77". RealGM. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  10. ^ "Baloncesto Sevilla 59, Spartak Saint Petersburg 78". RealGM. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  11. ^ "Bilbao Basket 81, Baloncesto Sevilla 60". RealGM. Retrieved 22 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  12. ^ a b c d "2013-2014 International Games". RealGM. Retrieved 22 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  13. ^ "2013–14 ACB All-Young players Team" (in Spanish). ACB.com. 20 May 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
  14. ^ "Coach Aito Reneses leaves Cajasol Sevilla". Sportando.com. Retrieved 22 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  15. ^ "2014-2015 International Games". RealGM. Retrieved 22 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  16. ^ "2014-15 Eurocup Rising Star Trophy winner: Kristaps Porzingis, Baloncesto Seville". Eurocupbasketball.com. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  17. ^ Mejor Quinteto Joven de la Liga Endesa 2014-15; ACB.com, 19 May 2015
  18. ^ "Porziņģis tomēr pieteicies NBA draftam" (in Latvian). Diena.lv. April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  19. ^ Herbert, James. "NBA Draft 2014: Latvian prospect Kristaps Porzingis to enter draft". SB Nation. Retrieved 22 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  20. ^ Ford, Chad. "Kristaps Porzingis pulls out of draft". ESPN. Retrieved 22 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  21. ^ "Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis to enter draft". ESPN.com. April 16, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  22. ^ Ding, Kevin. "Mystery Man Kristaps Porzingis Tempts Many in NBA Draft, but Will Any Team Bite?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  23. ^ Murphy, David. "Why Kristaps Porzingis Could Be the Shocker of the 2015 NBA Draft Class". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  24. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian. "Meet the Euro prodigy who seems unlike the flops who came before him". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  25. ^ "With The No. 4 Pick, The Lakers Select Kristaps Porzingis". NBA.com. June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  26. ^ Berman, Marc (26 June 2015). "Knicks take Euro stud Kristaps Porzingis with No. 4 pick". nypost.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  27. ^ Willis, George (26 June 2015). "Why Knicks fans at draft booed Porzingis pick". New York Post.
  28. ^ Carey, Matt (25 June 2015). "Sixers Draft Guillermo Hernangomez With Pick #35, Trade Him To Knicks For Two Future Picks". libertyballers.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  29. ^ "Knicks Sign Kristaps Porzingis and Jerian Grant". NBA.com. July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  30. ^ 2015 Summer League Player Profile – Kristaps Porzingis
  31. ^ "2015 Draft Prospect Kristaps Porzingis". NBA.com. Retrieved 20 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  32. ^ a b Weitzman, Yaron. "NBA Draft Watch: The Kristaps Porzingis Experience". AOL. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  33. ^ Robbins, Josh. "A Q-and-A with NBA Draft prospect Kristaps Porzingis". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  34. ^ "Scotto: Kristaps Porzingis Transcends the European Stereotype". SheridanHoops.com. Retrieved 22 June 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |website= (help)
  35. ^ Porziņģis, Kristaps. "Twitter account". Twitter. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
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