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With the NBA Draft only days away, it's tough to think of a prospect whose stock has risen as quickly as Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis.
The seven-footer, who isn't lacking confidence, is currently projected as a top-four pick by both ESPN and Draft Express after spending most of the season in the 7-10 range.
While unlikely, Porzingis could shock the world by having his name called in the top two, particularly if what NBA executives are telling ESPN's Chad Ford about him is well-founded.
"I was watching him warm up and had flashbacks to when I saw Pau Gasol take the floor for the first time in Spain, only this kid is much more athletic than Gasol and plays with that same fluidity," an NBA general manager told Ford in early April. "I've been asking my team since then: Are you sure he's not the No. 1 guy? Are these guys in college really better than him?"
Then there's this from Ford:
All year I got calls as teams returned from Spain asking me the same question. 'Why isn't this kid in the discussion for the No. 1 pick?' I always responded the same way:
'That's the question I'm asking you.'
Karl-Anthony Towns remains the expected No. 1 pick come Thursday, but given the lofty comparisons thrown Porzingis' way and the fact that he could fill a floor-stretching, playmaking power forward role that's currently the rage in the association, the Baloncesto Sevilla big man appears to be the wild card at the top end of the draft.
Until then, Porzingis will continue his quest to show people he's "not just some skinny white guy."
