Kristaps Porzingis Reflects on Time With Knicks
It's been nearly nine years since the New York Knicks triggered boos on the night of the 2015 NBA Draft when they selected Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 overall pick.
Flash forward to present-day, and Porzingis is helping the Knicks' biggest rival, the Boston Celtics, clinch their 18th NBA title. Porzingis was injured for most of the postseason, but has come back just in time to help the Celtics win their first two games against the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals.
Porzingis spoke with GQ Magazine to discuss his road to Boston and how much he's grown since his days in New York.
“Early in my career, I had the hype and the New York stage and all of this,” Porzingis told GQ. “But to be honest, I wasn’t that good of a basketball player yet. I know I had some highlights and because it was in New York, everything was under the microscope … but the basketball player I am right now and I was in New York, it’s just night and day from an effectiveness standpoint, and understanding the game. That time in Washington helped me re-find and re-tool my game and take me to the next level.”
Porzingis spent his first four NBA seasons with the Knicks before being traded to the Mavericks, where he struggled to fit alongside Luka Doncic. That brought on frustrations for the Latvian big man, and a change of scenery was needed.
A trade to the Washington Wizards helped with that as Porzingis again found joy, peace and purpose to his game. However, the teammates that surrounded Porzingis in Washington were unable to put him in a position to succeed.
Now, joining the Celtics has given Porzingis exactly what he needs to be part of a championship-caliber team. It's possible to argue that Boston's missing piece to the puzzle was Porzingis. His 20.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game aren't as high as his numbers last year in Washington, but the number "64" in the win column is what Porzingis prioritizes, and that beat every team in the league this year.
Now, the No. 4 overall pick from 2015 hopes that the number "4" will be next to Boston when counting wins at the end of this year's NBA Finals.
JEREMY BRENER
Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.