Sometimes, the best memes about NBA players have nothing to do with basketball directly, like Kristaps Porzingis as a dancing Drake in ‘Hotline Bling’, suggesting New York Knicks fans were a little rash to pass judgement on him.
If you remember, Knicks fans were booing when Phil Jackson made the teenage Latvian the 4th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Since then he’s managed to do very well in Summer League, add some muscle and beef to his frame, and do quite well on his first two weeks as an NBA rookie.
How well? He doesn’t look like a kid out of Europe who has no clue what he’s gotten into. He’s averaging 12.3 points with 8.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Yes, someone who seemed very likely to be a huge bust is now being called the biggest steal of the draft, even as a fourth pick.
Porzingis isn’t shooting well, hitting just 39.5% of his shots and only 22.7% from beyond the arc despite shooting 3.1 times a game. Rookies don’t tend to shoot very well. Porzingis’ form shouldn’t worry anyone.
The important thing is that he seems to fit right in with the other NBA players, helping the Knicks to a 4-4 start, while providing a highlight putback dunk on a nightly basis.