New York Knicks: Bernard King offers high praise for Kristaps Porzingis
New York Knicks legend Bernard King offered high praise for current franchise player Kristaps Porzingis. Find out what the 1985 scoring champion had to say!
There are few players in New York Knicks history who did more for the franchise than Bernard King. Overlooked by some due to the brevity of his tenure, King led New York to relevance and glory during the era that followed the championship teams of the 1970s.
That alone makes King an authority on what it means to be a great player in the NBA, let alone the unforgiving domain that is New York City.
Knowing this to be true, it’s hard not to put stock into what King has to say about the current state of the Knicks. Drafted No. 7 overall in the 1977 NBA Draft, King has 40 years of pro-level experience as a player and viewer.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, the overqualified King offered high praise for the current face of the Knicks by stating that he’s never seen anyone do what Kristaps Porzingis is capable of.
"“He’s been really outstanding,” King said of the Knicks’ third-year big man. “I’ve never seen a 7-foot-3 guy that can hit 3-point shots the way he does. Also, he has a tremendous understanding of basketball and where his placement of his body is on the court in terms of positioning. And how to get position.”"
Those words have a stronger force to them when provided by a Hall of Fame player who took Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics to seven games near the peak of their greatness.
The praise that King offered Porzingis for being a 7’3″ big man who can shoot the lights out is high indeed. Saying that he’s never seen a player his size be able to shoot in the way he does is both significant and factual.
Porzingis has the No. 1 (112 in 2016-17) and No. 2 (81 in 2015-16) seasons in NBA history in terms of three-point field goals made by a player standing 7’3″ or taller.
What’s far more important than the praise for his combination size and shooting ability, however, is what followed.
King heralded Porzingis for knowing how to position himself both with and without the ball. That’s been a foundational key to the 22-year-old’s success in 2017-18, as he’s been getting to his spots and making quick decisions within the flow of the offense.
That’s helped Porzingis maintain a pace that could enable him to join King as the only players in franchise history to average at least 30.0 points per game.
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Bernard King knows as much about scoring as anyone in NBA history. Thus, his praise for current New York Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis holds weight.