New York Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis Named Rookie Of The Month

New York Knicks’ rookie power forward Kristaps Porzingis took home some hardware today, being named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.

The New York Knicks are off to a stronger than anticipated start, going 9-10 thus far on the season. A big reason for the turnaround from the disaster that was the 2014-15 is the play of Kristaps Porzingis, the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Porzingis’ play has been recognized, as he was named Eastern Conference Rookie Of The Month.

Porzingis was expected to be a huge project for the Knicks, at least a season or two away from being a consistent contributor. But, he is further along than people thought, as Porzingis has been a main cog in the Knicks success on both ends of the court.

He has a lot of moves offensively, as his length is virtually unguardable. He still needs to add some weight and strength to bang in the post, but he really doesn’t need to do that to have success. At 7-feet-3 inches tall, Porzingis has a shot that cannot be successfully defended by even the best defenders. He also has had a penchant for highlight, putback dunks to get fans in a craze.

That athleticism is not normally something a person as tall as Porzingis possesses, and it has helped him adapt to the style of play in the NBA quicker than they thought. He also has a beautiful jump shot, that has helped him reach 13.8 points per game on 43.2 percent shooting.

More from Empire Writes Back

His range goes all the way out to the three-point line, as he is going to be one of the toughest players in the NBA to defend sooner than later. The 13.8 points per game is third behind only Jahlil Okafor and Karl Anthony-Towns.

In addition, he leads the Knicks with 9.3 rebounds per game, which is the most among rookies currently. Despite his lack of strength, Porzingis battles on the boards every night, bringing energy and effort no matter who he is going up against. Again, his length alone helps here, as well as when he is playing defense.

Porzingis is averaging 2.0 blocks per game as well, making one of the best rim protecting duos in the NBA when he is playing alongside Robin Lopez. He is a very tough player to score over as he can almost tough the rim by just raising his arms up in the air, giving him a huge radius to block shots.

Next: Knicks Top 5 Point Guards In Franchise History

This season, Porzingis either owns or is tied for the rookie high in points, rebounds and blocks in a single game with 29, 15 and seven. Keep in mind this is a player that still has a ton of room to grow; the rest of the NBA better watch out as he is already a force to be reckoned with. This is the first of what should be many awards won by Porzingis not only this season but in the future.