How things have quickly changed through the past months for Kristaps Porzingis.
After being practically booed when the New York Knicks selected him at the 2015 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft, the Latvian beanpole has now proved everyone wrong.
Porzingis has been a revelation, proving to one and all that he deserves to be in the NBA. In fact, teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers are now scratching their heads on why they never even took a gamble at the 7-foot-3-inch forward who has given the Knicks new hope as far as possibly making the NBA playoffs.
Recall that the Knicks weren't even among the teams considered to make it to the post season wars and yet, they are now within striking distance. And in the process, Porzingis has stood out and has been drawing praises.
The latest NBA figure to praise Porzingis is many time champion coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.
Pop singles out the agility and intelligence of Porzingis via Twitter, both of which he says are pretty significant. And with that in mind, he expects Porzingis to be a great player during his NBA tenure which may line him up to possibly succeed Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.
Popovich on Porzingis: "His agility, his sense of the game, his skills are quite significant. I think he’s going to be a great player."
— Andrew Keh (@andrewkeh) January 8, 2016 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">Porzingis justified all that when he strutted his wares against the Spurs. The rookie racked up 28 points and 11 rebounds as he almost led the Knicks to victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
He did all that with LaMarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan alternating on him, a good sign that the kid will get even better as he matures.
So it may not be surprising at all if one sees Phil Jackson or even Derek Fisher flashing a smirk. Both were criticized but then again, they obviously did their scouting and knew a whole lot more of Porzingis and the potential he carries.
