Porzingis was mystified by Unicorn nickname: Is it 'horse with a ponytail?'
Kristaps Porzingis has embraced his nickname as the Unicorn, but it took some time to warm up to it.
The New York Knicks star appeared on "The Tonight Show" on Thursday, and revealed he was originally perplexed by the moniker given to him by Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant.
"At first I was a little confused," the 22-year-old Latvian said. "It's like, what is this, a horse with a ponytail? Like, what? What does it mean? But then they kind of explained it to me, what he tried to say is that I was a unique player. It was nice to hear him say good things about me."
It's true. Durant was praising Porzingis during his rookie year when he compared him to the mythical creature.
"He's like a skilled player," the 2014 MVP said in 2016. "He can shoot. He can make the right plays. He can defend. He's a 7-footer that can shoot all the way out to the 3-point line. That's rare. And block shots, that's like a unicorn."
Also true. The 7-foot-3 power forward is excelling in his first year as the face of the franchise, leading the Knicks with 25.8 points on 46.7 shooting from the field and 39.8 percent from 3-point territory to go along with 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, and 1.1 assists per game.
He's truly a unicorn on the court, and also on Halloween.
Kristaps Porzingis is a Unicorn for Halloween! #Knicks pic.twitter.com/CZObdwS0Yy
— Billy Platt (@BillyDaKid732) November 1, 2017
HEADLINES
- Oilers eliminate Golden Knights on Kapanen's OT winner
- T-Wolves reach 2nd straight WCF after knocking out Warriors
- Matthews: Leafs didn't give fans 'reason to stick around' in Game 5
- Rockies become 1st team in modern era to start season 7-36
- D-Backs' Lovullo ejects entire umpiring crew after getting tossed