Alright, so I spent some time today just digging back into Kristaps Porzingis’s rookie year with the Knicks. It popped into my head, don’t know why, maybe saw something about him recently. Anyway, decided to actually sit down and revisit that whole period.
First thing I did was just search for “Porzingis rookie season highlights”. Wanted to get that visual memory refreshed. You know, see the actual plays again, not just look at numbers right away. Watched a few compilations. It’s funny how you remember things.
Digging In a Bit
Then I started pulling up some basic info. My process was pretty simple:
- Draft Night Reaction: I specifically looked for videos and articles about the draft night itself. Man, those boos were something else. I remember watching it live and thinking, “Wow, tough crowd for this kid.” Seeing it again, yeah, still brutal.
- Early Games Performance: Tried to find box scores and recaps from his first few weeks. Wanted to see how quickly he started showing flashes. It wasn’t instant superstar stuff, but you could see the potential right away. The skillset was just so different for a guy that tall back then.
- Key Moments: Looked for specific games or plays people talked about that year. That putback dunk, some of those blocks where he came out of nowhere. Tried to piece together the narrative of the season through those moments.
- Stats Check: Yeah, eventually I looked at the raw numbers. Points, rebounds, blocks. They were solid, definitely good for a rookie, especially one everyone was so unsure about. Compared them mentally to other top rookies from that class.
What really stuck with me going through this again was the pressure he was under. Foreign kid, drafted high into a huge market that clearly wasn’t thrilled initially. And he handled it pretty well, all things considered. He wasn’t afraid to shoot, wasn’t afraid to mix it up a little.
Honestly, looking back, it was a pretty unique situation. The combination of his size, shooting touch, and the market he landed in. It felt like a big experiment at the time. Pulling up those old clips and articles really brought back that feeling. It wasn’t just about the stats; it was the whole context surrounding him joining the league. Spent a good hour just clicking around, watching bits and pieces. Good trip down memory lane.
