He's only a rookie, but New York Knicks wunderkind Kristaps Porzingis is ready to embrace the hate from their crosstown rivals.
In advance of Friday's battle of New York, Porzingis took time to send a few pointed barbs towards those in the borough, as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports.
Kristaps Porzingis is into this Knicks-Nets game: "I know our fans are better than Brooklyn’s fans."
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) December 3, 2015
Porzingis: "Sometimes I see somebody with a Brooklyn hat on, I say, ‘What is that? You need a Knicks hat.’"
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) December 3, 2015
Porzingis on popularity of Nets overseas: "Everybody knows the Knicks but not really the Nets. I remember more of the New Jersey Nets."
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) December 3, 2015
The 7-foot-3 Latvian has taken over New York, unseating Carmelo Anthony as the talk of the city. He's averaging 13.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and two blocks per game, and he's even single-handedly won games for the much-improved Knicks.
With Porzingis, it's not just a case of putting up empty stats. The Knicks have outscored opponents by 59 points in Porzingis's 534 minutes. That figure dips to minus 81 when he sits. He's been a fixture of the team on both ends of the floor.
And although the Knicks and Nets are both under .500, there's no shortage of hype for Friday's showdown.
ESPN just dropped a commercial for Nets-Knicks with the "Kristaps Porzingis" Latvian rap song pic.twitter.com/tvDwULaWcf
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) December 2, 2015