New York Knicks: What Makes Kristaps Porzingis A Unicorn?

Kristaps Porzingis has taken the NBA world by storm and has become known as The Unicorn. This is why the New York Knicks star got that nickname.

With the fourth pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks select Kristaps Porzingis, from Liepaja, Latvia. Cue the boos and jeers that Knicks fans get blamed for to this day.

Can you blame us? How many times has a tall European prospect worked out in the NBA? Nonetheless, he’s now our hero and the one who we call “Unicorn.”

Unicorns don’t exist, do they? Lets find out.

Porzingis has the 3-point shot in his arsenal. He’s shooting about 37.8% from the three this season. Thats good for sixth among qualified power forwards. The only players shooting better than him with more 3-point field goal made (93) are Kevin Love (119) and Ryan Anderson (115).

Lets keep in mind that Kevin Love plays with LeBron James and Ryan Anderson plays with James Harden. Porzingis plays with less inclined passers in Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony.

KP’s 37.8 percent clip and 93 made threes would also be better than any center in the league.

Basketball-Reference shows Porzingis only played 37 percent of his minutes at the center position, but he’s 7’3 and should be the center.

The Knicks run curl plays for him like he’s Kyle Korver. He trails the play and knocks down threes like Dirk Nowitzki. His shooting is pure and we are lucky to witness it everyday as Knicks fans. But that’s not even what makes him who he is.

Porzingis has shown a knack for not only grabbing rebounds, but also slamming them down with authority. He also had an and-one poster jam on Dwight Howard this season.

To compare, the most dunks Dirk Nowitzki had in one season was 48. Porzingis has 61 so far this season.

Now that we’ve established his incredible offense, lets look at his defense. Its officially Unicorn time, ladies and gentleman! Porzingis is tied for fifth in blocks.

KP has the most blocks for any big who qualified for the 3-point percentage leaderboard. Not only that, but no one in NBA history has ever averaged 2.0 3-point field goals made and 2.0 blocks per game. KP is currently averaging 1.9 threes made and 2.0 blocks a game.

One thing to note is that Kristaps Porzingis is currently third in the league with 189 fouls committed. Due to this, he only averages 33 minutes per game, leaving us all to wonder how many blocks and points he could’ve amassed.

Not only does he need to play defense without fouling, but his offense could use some polish, as well. When it comes to overall scoring, he needs work, but the possibilities are endless. We’ve seen him take less agile bigs off the dribble.

We’ve seen him spot up and light up the garden. He also has an impossible-to-block turnaround fade. He can also cut and finish at the rack.

Yet, his post game doesn’t seem to be improved from last year. He has a hard time backing down bigs in the post. It’s easy to muscle him up. He also doesn’t have a go-to move. His scoring seems to be solely off the charity stripe and spotting up.

If he can improve his core strength and develop his intriguing post game, his offensive arsenal can become unmatched. He hasn’t even reached his final form and he’s already the prized possession of all Knicks fans.

This is what makes him special. 3-ball, handles, dunks, blocks, steals—he does it all. Lets just hope he can add one more word to that list in the future: wins.

No NBA player has ever blocked shots and nailed threes at this caliber. The game is evolving and positions are disappearing. KP is the physical embodiment of that statement.

Must Read: Which point guards will become free agents?

To all who ask for proof of mythical creatures, watch a New York Knicks game. You might spot a Unicorn.