When the New York Knicks took Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, it was chaos. Fans booed. The media questioned everything. There were memes being posted all over the place. At that moment, it did not feel like the Knicks had drafted the future; it felt like they had taken a wild swing on a complete unknown.
Fast forward to 2025, and it turns out that “wild swing” aged pretty well. In a recent Game Theory Podcast redraft, analysts Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon actually moved Porzingis up to the number 3 overall pick, ahead of where the Knicks originally took him. Only Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns were ranked higher.
Knicks' gamble on Porzingis aged better than expected
“Kristaps at his ceiling is something, man,” Vecenie said. “Where he can play in that mid-post area and shoot over the top of switches… he can really comfortably pick and pop.” That ceiling was on full display during his third season in New York, when Porzingis averaged 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. He was 22 years old, an All-Star, and looked like the Knicks’ next franchise cornerstone.
“In his third season in New York before the knee injury,” Vecenie added, “I thought Kristaps was straight up on a Hall of Fame trajectory.” Then the injury happened. A torn ACL ended his season and eventually his time with the Knicks. The team traded him to the Dallas Mavericks in 2019, and he has never suited up for New York again.
Since then, Porzingis has been with four different teams. Those teams include Dallas, the Washington Wizards, the Boston Celtics, and now the Atlanta Hawks. But no matter the jersey, when healthy, he has remained one of the most impactful big men in the league. He was instrumental for the Celtics when they went on to claim their 18th banner in 2024. Still just 29 years old, his career has not gone perfectly, but it has been undeniably impressive.
Yes, injuries have followed him. He has only played more than 70 games once, and that was during his rookie year. And yes, the Knicks unfortunately did not get to see his full prime in their jersey. But one thing is for sure, they got the pick right. They trusted what they saw in a 7’3” unicorn with touch and range, and that vision has been validated.
Sometimes it takes years to know if a draft pick was the right one. In this case, the answer is finally clear: the Knicks were ahead of the curve. It is just too bad he did not work out in the Big Apple, but all things happen for a reason; at the end of the day, the Knicks ended up with Karl-Anthony Towns, even if it did not involve a clear connection.
Porzingis could find his way back to New York at some point down the line. If he does, he would be joining a Knicks team that is much better than when he was here. And who knows? Maybe the Knicks will have a recent championship to lure him back...they are the favorites in the East, after all.