New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis received a vote for the 2016 NBA All-Defensive Team. A sign of things to come?
Generally speaking, a conversation about Kristaps Porzingis is centered around his otherworldly offensive potential. It’s rare that a 7’3″ player enters the NBA, and even more uncommon for such an athlete to be adept, let alone versatile, as a scorer.
Perhaps we haven’t paid enough attention to how dominant of a defensive player Porzingis could become.
Porzingis was the toast of the town in 2015-16, providing New York Knicks fans with a rare reason for optimism. From booed on draft night to cheered every other, The PorzinGod seemed to do something special every time he played.
Porzingis, who was unanimously selected to the All-Rookie First Team, recently received a vote for another honor: All-Defense.
Kawhi Leonard unanimously selected to All-Defensive First Team. Check out full voting. pic.twitter.com/7COI5kXxzW
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) May 25, 2016
During his first season in the NBA, Porzingis has already earned enough respect to appear on the All-Defensive Team ballot.
Porzingis finished the 2015-16 NBA regular season with averages of 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 offensive blocks, 1.9 blocks, 0.7 steals, and 1.1 3-point field goals made per game. It was a triumphant rookie year from a player who appropriately received the label of a phenom.
For as well as he played, it’s often lost how dramatically he’s impacting the game already.
Porzingis ranked No. 8 in the NBA—amongst all players—in blocks per game. He was also No. 8 in blocks per 48 minutes, and held opponents to just 47.7 percent shooting when he met them at the rim.
In just his first year in the league, Porzingis cracked the Top 10 in blocks and the Top 20 in defensive field goal percentage at the rim.
Overall, Porzingis held opponents to 41.7 percent shooting from the field on 13.4 field goal attempts faced per game. That’s a decline of 4.9 percent from his opponents’ average field goal percentage.
In other words, Porzingis is already bordering on elite from an individual defensive perspective.
As a team, Porzingis and center Robin Lopez helped the Knicks jump to No. 1 in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage at the rim. The previous season, New York ranked No. 12 in the Association in said area.
Clearly, Porzingis and Lopez made their mark defensively.
It wasn’t just that Porzingis consistently altered shots and impacted the game defensively; it was how he did it. His size and length were invaluable assets, and his athleticism enhanced the value of both of those virtues.
Just watch the way Porzingis readjusts his body to block Russell Westbrook—arguably the most explosive player in the NBA—on a driving layup after Westbrook gets by him.
99.9 percent of players in NBA history would’ve been physically incapable of pulling that off—and Porzingis did it with such ease that he caught the ball!
That’s just a small sample of what Porzingis brings to the table on the defensive end of the floor. He’s just as capable of stepping out to defend the perimeter—opponents shot 30.5 percent against Porzingis on 3-point field goals—as he is intimidating in the paint.
If he continues down this path, one can’t help but assume Porzingis will soon receive enough votes to make the All-Defensive Team, and not just appear in the, “Other players receiving votes,” section.
In due time.