The 15 greatest bigs in New York Knicks history

Kristaps Porzingis

Speaking of highly controversial deals with the Dallas Mavericks that will sting later on, regardless of his unceremonious exit, Kristaps Porzingis is undeniably one of the best things hovering in the 7-foot range that happened to the Knicks since they drafted Patrick Ewing.

Truth be told, there were very few pundits or fans who thought the Porzingis selection at the 4th spot in the 2015 draft lottery was a wise one.

And even after he proved himself with a dagger of a 3-point shot, unreal put back dunks and elite rim protection, the city of New York still stood at an aloof arms distance from the Unicorn because, realistically, injuries aside, he had yet to prove he can win.

And in New York, winning is everything.

While Porzingis’ time was limited in his tenure as a Knick, he flashed some scary upside in his age-22 2017-18 season with the Knicks. In just 48 games, before going down with an ACL tear, he averaged 22.7 points, 2.4 blocks, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 3-pointers per game.

He was booed and proved everyone wrong, but still maintained a classy demure under the brightest of lights.

Despite it all, he has already made his dent in the storied Knick legacy. With the Knicks owning the Mavericks 2021 and 2023 first round picks as part of the deal, we can only hope that he will not thrive in Dallas and the picks will become as valuable as somebody thought they were.