The Kristaps Porzingis hype is warranted.
So says Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, the foremost authority on what it takes to go from an unknown European to an NBA phenom — and a player often invoked in hopeful comparisons with the Knicks rookie.
“He is for real,” Nowitzki told ESPN. “He is long. He is athletic. He is tough. He’s got a touch. He can put it on the floor.”
After Friday’s 93-90 victory in Oklahoma City, Porzingis said he was flattered by the praise.
“Dirk Nowitzki is a legend. I can only learn from him and try to be at his level one day,” Porzingis said. “He’s probably the greatest player to ever play in the NBA [who’s] European. Those were nice words coming out of his mouth.”
Since the Knicks took Porzingis with the fourth overall pick in the NBA Draft in June, drawing boos from the crowd at Barclays Center that night, comparisons have been made between the 7-foot-3 forward from Latvia and Nowitzki. Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who was a Mavericks assistant from 2008-11, said they are warranted.
“That kid is going to be a heck of a player,’’ Casey said before a Knicks-Raptors game Nov. 10. “He’s long — nowhere near Dirk yet. But he’s Dirk-like from his length, his range with his 3-point shot. He’s fearless and he’s long and a rebounder. He rebounds with his length. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with in this league for a long time.’’
Porzingis has taken New York by storm, becoming an instant fan favorite and outperforming expectations through 13 games, averaging 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in just 25.4 minutes per game during the Knicks’ solid 7-6 start. He had his best NBA outing in Tuesday’s win over the Hornets, scoring 29 points and adding 11 rebounds, becoming the youngest Knick, at the age of 20, to post a 25-point, 10-rebound game.
Nowitzki, the German 7-footer, got off to a slow start in his first season in the NBA after he was taken ninth overall by the Bucks in the 1998 draft and traded to the Mavericks, averaging just 8.2 points on 40 percent shooting from the field. Porzingis was more NBA ready, having played in Spain with Sevilla, while Nowitzki came over from his native Germany and had his first summer league wiped out by the lockout.
“He is for real,” Nowitzki said for a second time. “Sky’s the limit.”
Former NBA forward Scott Roth, who was coaching in Dallas when Nowitzki first arrived, was in Memphis with Pau Gasol, and worked with Porzingis in Sevilla, had high expectations for the Knicks rookie when he made the move to America.
“I thought he’d be an All-Star in two to four years, but I thought he’d need more time for his body to catch up to him,” Roth told ESPN. “He always had the toughness. He’s always had the willingness to take the hit. He’s never shied away from contact. But the big surprise to me, to this point, is his rebounding. He’s holding his own around the basket.”
Knicks associate head coach Kurt Rambis sees some Gasol in Porzingis also. In fact, he sees some of both Gasol and Nowitzki in the Knicks’ young phenom.
“He might be a combination of both of them,’’ Rambis said in October. “He can do so many things. You guys haven’t seen it yet. And some of it won’t come out for three, four, five years, either. He’s got to grow up, mature, develop, get stronger and [get] used to the NBA game. He already understands basketball and knows what to do, and he’s an unselfish player. He makes really good decisions. It wasn’t like he was a blank slate coming here.”
— Additional reporting by Marc Berman