Porzingis relates to Lonzo: 'I don't really give a s---' about distractions
Lonzo Ball could learn a thing or two from Kristaps Porzingis.
Like the Los Angeles Lakers rookie, Porzingis knows what it's like to enter the NBA with a lot of hype and just as much criticism, if not more. Luckily for the New York Knicks star, he has an uncanny ability to tune out distractions.
"I think for everybody is different. For me, I just didn't care," he told New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy.
"My brothers say all the time that I'm just too dumb to know what's going on. I don't really care what's going on in the outside. I wasn't bothered by the boos at all when I got drafted. I was happy. For everybody it's different. I think that's a good quality that I have that I don't really give a s---."
Knicks fans infamously booed the Latvian power forward when the organization selected him fourth overall in 2015. At least one boy even cried.
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It wasn't just people outside of the game who questioned whether Porzingis was cut out for the pros. He was targeted by opponents and even his teammates in practice early on in his career, and had to prove he was tough enough to play in the NBA.
It's safe to say he is. At 22, Porzingis is already the face of the storied franchise - a role he assumed after Carmelo Anthony was traded this past offseason - and actually credited Melo with teaching him not to "give a s---" about drama.
That attitude has been helpful, especially given the massive market he plays in and the theatrics that always seem to follow the Knicks. In his third season, the talented big man leads New York with 25.5 points and two blocks per game to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
Unlike Ball, Porzingis doesn't have an outspoken father who boasts about him publicly and incessantly, putting a league-wide target on his back. The Unicorn suggested the No. 2 pick has it tougher than he did.
"And for (Lonzo), it's also more like the toughest position in the NBA is the point guard," he said. "Being the starting point guard every night having to play against a great point guard, it's tough. A lot of guys don't like the hype he's getting for nothing. And that's why they're going after him."
The two will face off for the first time Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.