New York Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis Lands On Top 25 Under 25 List
New York Knicks power forward Kristaps Porzingis has landed on ESPN’s Top 25 Under 25 list.
The New York Knicks have a bright future as long as Kristaps Porzingis is around. The 21-year old from Latvia has as high a ceiling as any player in the NBA given his size and skill set.
Standing 7-feet-3 inches tall, Porzingis can do things that a player a foot shorter than him can do. He has deep range well beyond the three-point line and has shown improvements in his sophomore season.
There is still some work to be done, but Porzings has looked the part of a franchise cornerstone thus far. He knows that he needs to put in work during the offseason to reach his potential, and it is encouraging to see the effort he puts into workouts. He is bright and understands that success needs to be earned; it will not be given to him.
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That is part of the reason that the future is so bright for Porzingis. Just how bright is it? ESPN named Porzingis as one of the best players in the NBA under the age of 25. Porzingis landed at No.5 on the list, which is impressive given the number of young players in the game today that have very bright futures.
Amin Elhassan, Kevin Pelton, and David Thorpe ranked the top-25 players under the age of 25. Only Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Joel Embidd currently rank ahead of Porzingis. Here is what they had to say about Porzingis being ranked fifth.
"The reason I coined the term “unicorn” for Porzingis before the 2014 draft was because of his immense potential as a defensive stretch big, one of the hardest roles to fill in the league.So far, he has delivered on the shooting end, displaying a deft touch from beyond the arc, and has developed into a dominant finisher around the basket.His rebounding leaves something to be desired, and that’s a key to being an effective defensive big, even as he has developed into an elite rim protector."
There is a lot to like about Porzingis as they stated. He is already an elite rim protector despite his slight frame given his otherworldly wingspan. His ability to stretch the floor gives the Knicks offense some diversity; he just has to continue augmenting his post up game.
He has the length to shoot over virtually any defender, but sometimes bigger, stronger guys can move him off his spot. Once he gets stronger and continues to develop his low post game he will be unstoppable offensively.
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The Knicks have an excellent building block on Porzingis. If he is able to come near his ceiling, the Knicks will have one of the best players in the NBA on their team for about the next decade.