New York Knicks: How Good Can Kristaps Porzingis Be?
Kristaps Porzingis is 18 games into his second NBA season and is steadily improving. We pose the question: just how good can Porzingis become?
As I so humbly predicted, Karl Anthony Towns outplayed Kristaps Porzingis, but the New York Knicks edged out a win, thanks in large part to Carmelo Anthony’s game-winning jumper with 2.4 seconds left. However, let us not forget the reason the Knicks even got to that point: Porzingis.
KP tallied 29 points, four assists, eight rebounds, and a +/- of +0. He also had two blocks, one of which was on Shabazz Mohammed and may be the best block of the year (so far).
Take a look:
With that being said, the question now becomes: how good can Porzingis become?
Only 90 games into his young career, it’s difficult to make assumptions of how good a player can be. Injuries, surrounding players, and the environment he plays in can be determining factors.
What we can do, however, is match up his numbers with some all-time great power forwards and see how he compares.
Dirk Nowitzki
When Porzingis was drafted in 2015, many analysts compared him to the great Dirk Nowitzki. Whether they made the comparison because his game was eerily similar to Nowitzki’s or because he was a large white male from Europe is still unknown.
Nonetheless, Nowitzki is an NBA champion, an MVP, a Finals MVP, a 13-time All-Star, and a guaranteed first ballot Hall of Famer.
Let’s take a look at his first two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks.
In his first year, Dirk averaged 8.2 points, 0.6 blocks, and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 77 percent from the free throw line. By comparison, Porzingis averaged 14.3 points, 1.9 blocks, and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 83 percent from the free throw line.
In his second year, Dirk averaged 17.5 points, 0.8 blocks, and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 83 percent from the free throw line line. 18 games into his second season, Porzingis is averaging 21.4 points, 1.5 blocks, and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 78 percent from the free throw line.
Nowitzki is arguably a Top 5 power forward of all-time and Porzingis has started his career off better than he did. Porzingis has three inches on Nowitzki, giving him more flexibility on the defensive end. He’s already shown the ability to take other bigs off the dribble
Let’s give Nowitzki his credit, though, as without his presence in the NBA, we may have never seen a Porzingis in the first place.
Kevin Garnett
KG. The Big Ticket. Not many players in the long history of the NBA have ever played with the same intensity and passion for the game as Kevin Garnett. KG was a 15-time All-Star, the 2003-2004 MVP, the 2007-2008 Defensive Player of the Year, and a champion with the Boston Celtics.
People often criticize LeBron James for leaving Cleveland to form a Big 3, but what people often forget is that KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen were the pioneers of the Big 3 movement.
As a rookie, Garnett averaged 10.4 points, 1.6 blocks, and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the free throw line. In his second season, he averaged 17.0 points, 2.1 blocks, and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 75 percent from the FT line.
Granted, KP isn’t the defender that the Big Ticket was, and we don’t know if he’ll ever be. Outside of that, KP has proven to have a consistent mid range game and is already a better 3-point shooter.
Let’s give KG his credit, though, as his post-game interview after winning the title with Boston will live forever.
Tim Duncan
TD. The Big Fundamental. Tim Duncan is a 15-time All-Star, a two-time MVP, three-time Finals MVP, and a five-time NBA champion. Not many would argue against the belief that Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward to ever live, and possibly the worst dressed.
“Not many would argue that Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward to ever live, and possibly the worst dressed.”
His numbers can’t be denied.
Duncan averaged 21.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while shooting 66 percent from the free throw line during his Rookie of the Year campaign. In his second season, he averaged 21.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while shooting 69 percent from the free throw line.
Those numbers speak for themselves. Add another 17 seasons of that production (and never missing the playoffs) and you have the GOAT at his position.
Even still, Porzingis matches up well throughout his first two seasons, and has more upside in a heavy 3-point shooting league. Plus, Porzingis has paid homage to the great TD, as many of his midrange jumpers are off the glass.
Let’s give TD his credit, though, as he managed to make the un-coolest shot, the bank shot, cool. Major respect.
The Verdict
Outside of The Big Fundamental, KP has had superior rookie and sophomore seasons to those of Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett. This is in no way saying that KP will surpass them in greatness, but it is saying that he’s on pace too.
Barring serious injury, or Latvia starting an uber competitive basketball league that forces KP to return to his home country, KP is on pace to be one of the best power forwards to ever play this game.
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