Kristaps Porziņģis
Kristaps Porziņģis is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. Nicknamed "the Unicorn" for his ability to make plays and shoot three-pointers as a center, Porziņģis is listed at and plays as a power forward and center.
Born in Liepāja, Porziņģis began his professional career with Sevilla in 2012. Porziņģis quickly rose through the team's youth ranks and became the figurehead of the senior team by 2013. He subsequently won the EuroCup Basketball Rising Star award in 2015, where, at age 19, Porziņģis became the youngest ever recipient of the award. The following summer, he declared for the NBA draft and was selected fourth overall by the New York Knicks.
In New York, Porziņģis was seen as one of the Knicks' potential cornerstones, and he was selected as an All-Star in 2018. However, disagreements with the front office led Porziņģis to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 2019. In Dallas, he was plagued by injuries and inconsistent play and was traded to the Washington Wizards in 2022. In Washington, Porziņģis bounced back, but was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2023 as part of the Wizards' front office's desire to rebuild. He won an NBA championship with the Celtics in 2024 before being traded to the Atlanta Hawks in 2025.
Early career
Porziņģis followed in his parents' footsteps and started playing basketball at age six. Once he turned 12, his older brother, Jānis, who played professionally in Europe, took Porziņģis to offseason training sessions. He played in youth competitions with BK Liepājas Lauvas, the most famous club based in his hometown of Liepāja, until age 15. An agent from Latvia sent video of Porziņģis around this time to teams in Spain and Italy. In 2010, Baloncesto Sevilla, a club that had a professional team competing in the Liga ACB in Spain, called Porziņģis for a tryout in an attempt to recruit foreign talent to its junior squads. He stood and weighed at this time. Porziņģis recalled the moment and said, "I came here with my brother for two or three days, but it was really hot and I couldn't play at my best because of that. Still, I received a contract in summer 2010 and I signed it." Inmaculada Avivar, a nutritionist for Sevilla, diagnosed that Porziņģis was suffering from anemia, meaning that he had fewer red blood cells. This caused Porziņģis to feel fatigue, shortness of breath, and inability to exercise. However, he gradually overcame the condition and began seeing improvement in his game. In addition to medical problems, Porziņģis had trouble picking up the language in Seville, making him reluctant to return there after his first tryout. In his first season playing for the junior squad, Porziņģis struggled to communicate with the coaching staff and his teammates and was often tired due to his health.Porziņģis debuted for the youth squad on 4 January 2012 against its counterpart from Barcelona, adding 12 points and 10 rebounds. The opposing side was led by Alexander Zhigulin, who went on to enter the 2015 NBA draft and withdraw. However, Sevilla was defeated, 56–75. This game was part of the Ciutat de L'Hospitalet tournament, which led up to the Nike International Junior Tournament. The following day, Porziņģis scored a personal best of 16 points on the Spars Sarajevo youth squad, helping Sevilla beat their opponents by a margin of eight points. Porziņģis said, "I knew it was a prestigious tournament and that I had to do well. I think I could have done much better, but I wasn't physically 100 percent. I have seen videos and could have been much more aggressive. But I wish I could have played better." He finished the tournament averaging 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks.
Porziņģis represented the Sevilla junior team again at the same tournament in early 2013. Against Union Olimpija on 4 January, he recorded 15 points and six rebounds. Two days later in the team's tournament finale vs Real Madrid's youth squad, Porziņģis scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He also made five three-pointers. Porziņģis proved to be more effective in his second year, averaging 16.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks and shooting.481 on three-pointers. This was his final stint in the youth categories of Sevilla.
Professional career
Sevilla (2012–2015)
2012–13: Rookie season
Entering the 2012–13 ACB season, Sevilla had hired Aíto García Reneses, who previously worked with the likes of Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio and Rudy Fernández. On 29 September 2012, Porziņģis got the opportunity to make an appearance with the club's first team, but was allowed to play for only a minute. Sevilla took a tremendous loss to CB Murcia. Following a return to the youth categories of the club at the Torneig de Bàsquet Junior Ciutat de L'Hospitalet, Porziņģis went back to competing for the senior squad. On 16 January 2013, he logged only four minutes against Spartak Saint Petersburg in the EuroCup, scoring no points, but contributing a rebound and an assist. Porziņģis scored his first basket for the senior team on 20 February, in a rematch with Spartak. Porziņģis said, "I was very nervous at the beginning: I wanted to do well and not pick up turnovers. At the same time, I got a lot of confidence with players of my same age. That allowed me to play better with the first team and practice with more confidence." On 4 May, Porziņģis posted a season-high seven points with the senior team, hitting two of three shots vs Bilbao Basket in ACB competition.2013–14: Second season and NBA consideration
Porziņģis opened his second season on Sevilla's main squad strong in his third game against the EuroLeague team Laboral Kutxa, leading them to a 20-point ACB victory on 2 November 2013. He notched 12 points, six rebounds, and four blocks. Porziņģis broke his scoring record once more against Real Madrid on 30 November 2013, nearly leading his team to a victory. Against the very same team on 6 April 2014, Porziņģis scored a career-high 20 points, nailing two three-pointers. Despite his team losing, Porziņģis began to trend on social media due to his performance. Porziņģis said, "It was a very good game for me on offense. I didn't get any rebounds in that game. I had a good shooting night, but could have helped more on defense. Still, fans in Madrid gave me a nice ovation when I fouled out and I liked that a lot." On 25 May, he got the chance to face his idol Justin Doellman of Barcelona, whom he called the "best power forward in Spanish basketball". Porziņģis scored 14 points against Doellman's team. In May 2014, Porziņģis was selected in the ACB All-Young Players Team of the 2013–14 season.In April, Porziņģis declared himself eligible for the 2014 NBA draft. Before and after he made the decision, Porziņģis drew interest from National Basketball Association teams such as the Orlando Magic, who held the 12th overall pick, and traveled to Europe to scout him. The Oklahoma City Thunder reportedly were certainly going to select Porziņģis with the 21st pick in the case that he remained. Porziņģis was considered an unfinished product and a top-15 draft pick. According to DraftExpress.com, he was the fourth-youngest prospect in their top-100 rankings. However, Porziņģis withdrew his name shortly before the draft. Porziņģis's agent Andy Miller released the information to ESPN, saying that his client did not feel prepared to become a part of the NBA and wanted to develop his skills until the 2015 draft. One of the league's general managers commented on Porziņģis, "He's very talented. He wasn't ready, but we would've seriously considered drafting him anyway. If he continues to develop his game, get more minutes and his body develops, I think he could be a top-five pick in 2015. He has that kind of talent."
2014–15: EuroCup Rising Star
Prior to the 2014–15 ACB season, head coach Aíto García Reneses parted ways with Sevilla. On 4 October 2014, against CB 1939 Canarias, Porziņģis made his season debut in the Liga ACB, scoring three points in the game. Porziņģis made his first appearance at the 2014–15 EuroCup on 15 October against EWE Baskets Oldenburg and scored two points. However, Porziņģis had a strong EuroCup performance against Pallacanestro Virtus Roma in the weeks that followed, in which he contributed 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. Porziņģis recorded a double-double in mid-November in a win over Estudiantes, adding 11 points and 11 rebounds. On 11 February 2015, he scored a season-high 19 points against the EuroCup's Turów Zgorzelec. Porziņģis tied this record on 18 April, vs. Bàsquet Manresa in the ACB. Three days earlier, Porziņģis was named the winner of the EuroCup Rising Star Award of the season. A month later, he repeated in the ACB All-Young Players Team, after avoiding the relegation with Baloncesto Sevilla.New York Knicks (2015–2019)
On 16 April 2015, Porziņģis entered the 2015 NBA draft, according to a report from agent Andy Miller. After gaining a season more of experience, Porziņģis became known as a lottery pick and a potential top-five selection. He drew interest from teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, who had the No. 2 pick and had several personnel that had seen Porziņģis play in Spain. Porziņģis was compared with players such as Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki, but also Darko Miličić, a former lottery selection widely considered a draft bust. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote, "Porziņģis has an innate awareness about the way the American public sees a young, long European teenager. He comes to the NBA with the full understanding that popular basketball culture declares him guilty until proven innocent of the basketball crimes of Darko Miličić and Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Andrea Bargnani. He's considered a stiff, a bust, a blown lottery pick until he doesn't become one..."On 25 June 2015, Porziņģis was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He was booed by some New York fans upon being drafted, but vowed to change the fans' opinions on him from negative to positive. On the same night, the Knicks traded for Porziņģis' teammate from Sevilla, Willy Hernangómez, who was originally drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers as a 35th overall pick. Porziņģis became the highest drafted Latvian and Baltic player in NBA history.