Kristaps Porzingis has become a fan favorite for the New York Knicks just a few months after some fans at the 2015 NBA Draft booed his selection.
“The first day I got drafted, I felt the fans were really passionate about basketball and there was going to be a lot of pressure. I knew that, but I wanted to be in New York because I love pressure,” Porzingis told Yahoo Sports. “I knew we could do big things here in the future. If you can succeed in New York, you can succeed anywhere."
Porzingis' game has immediately translated to the NBA.
“His culture is basketball,” said famed Las Vegas-based trainer Joe Abunassar, who prepared Porzingis for the draft in each of the past two summers. “What he does at night is basketball. He trains in the morning and shoots extra at night. Whether you’re in Seville, Spain, New York or Vegas, when you talk about the cultural differences, he’s not much of a, ‘Hey, let’s go experience the culture.’ It’s let’s go to the gym. If you keep your culture tight like that, it’s easy to adjust.”
Porzingis currently has the fourth highest PER for a rookie in Knicks' history.