Due to his wife’s critical remarks, the Kristaps Porzingis head coach has decided to end his…
Here, “Porzingis” reroutes. See Jānis Porziņģis for his brother. PorziņĖis is used for additional purposes.
Statistics Change this on Basketball-Reference.com’s Wikidata page.
Born on August 2, 1995, Kristaps Porziņģis (pronounced [ˈkris.taps ˈpuɔr.ziʲ.ʟis] in Latvian) plays professional basketball for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 meters) [b], he can be used as a power forward or center.
Porziņģis, who was born in Liepāja, started working with Sevilla in 2012. By 2013, Porziņģis had risen swiftly through the team’s young ranks to become the team’s captain. In 2015, he went on to win the EuroCup Basketball Rising Star title, making history as the youngest recipient of the honor at the age of 19. When PorziņĿis announced his candidacy for the NBA draft the next summer, the New York Knicks selected him fourth overall.
PorziņĿis was chosen as an All-Star in 2018 and was considered one of the Knicks’ future mainstays in New York. Nevertheless, in 2019, Porziņģis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks due to issues with the front administration. He struggled with injuries and played inconsistently in Dallas before being traded to the Washington Wizards in 2022. In Washington, Porziņģis bounced back but was moved to the Boston Celtics in 2023 as part of the Wizards’ head office’s effort to rebuild.[3]
Early career: PorziņĢis began playing basketball at age six, following in his parents’ footsteps.When Porziņģis reached twelve, his professional European player older brother Jānis accompanied him to off-season training sessions.[5] Up to the age of 15, he participated in youth championships with BK Liepājas Lauvas, the most well-known club in Liepāja, the location of his birth. Around this time, teams in Spain and Italy received film of Porziņěis from a Latvian agency.[4] In an effort to bring in international talent for its youth squads, Baloncesto Sevilla, a Spanish club with a professional team playing in the Liga ACB, called Porziņģis for a tryout in 2010. At this time, he was 157 lb (71 kg) in weight and 6 ft 8 in (2.03 meters) tall.[4]Porziņģis reminisced about the incident, saying, “I came here for two or three days with my brother, but I couldn’t play at my best because of the heat.” Nevertheless, I signed a contract that I was given in the summer of 2010.”[4] Sevilla’s dietitian, Inmaculada Avivar, determined that Porziņğis had anemia, or a deficiency of red blood cells.PorziņĿis experienced exhaustion, dyspnea, and an incapacity to engage in physical activity as a result of this. Still, he eventually conquered the illness and started to observe gains in his performance.Apart from his health issues, Porziņģis found it difficult to learn the language in Seville, which made him hesitant to go back after his initial audition. During his rookie season, Porziņģis had trouble interacting with the coaches and teammates, and his health frequently left him exhausted.[4]
On January 4, 2012, Porziņģis made his youth team debut against its Barcelona counterpart, contributing 12 points and 10 rebounds. Alexander Zhigulin headed the other team before he decided to participate and then withdrew from the 2015 NBA draft.[8] Nevertheless, Sevilla lost 56–75.[9] The Nike International Junior Competition (NIJT) was preceded by the Ciutat de L’Hospitalet competition, which included this match.[4] With a career-high 16 points on January 5th while playing for the Spars Sarajevo youth team, PorziŇģis helped Sevilla defeat their opponents by an eight-point margin.[10] “I knew it was a prestigious tournament and that I had to do well,” stated Porziņģis. Although I wasn’t physically at my best, I believe I could have performed much better. I might have been much more aggressive because I’ve seen footage. However, I wish I had performed better.”[4] He had averaged 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks by the end of the competition.[4] In early 2013, Porziņģis competed for the Sevilla junior squad in the same event once more. On January 4, against Union Olimpija, he finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds.[11] On January 6, PorziŇģis scored 24 points and pulled out 11 rebounds against the youth team of Real Madrid in the team’s competition final. In all, he made five three-pointers.[12] In his sophomore campaign, PorziņĎis outperformed himself, averaging 16.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and a.481 three-point shooting percentage.[4] This was his only appearance in Sevilla’s junior division.
Career in the profession
Sevilla from 2012 until 2015.
2012–13: Season of rookies
Aíto García Reneses, who had previously worked with Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, and Rudy Fernández, was hired by Sevilla ahead of the 2012–13 ACB season.[4] Porziņģis was given the chance to play for the first team of the club on September 29, 2012; however, he was only given a minute. Sevilla suffered a crushing defeat to CB Murcia.[13] After rejoining the club’s youth divisions at the Torneig de Bàsquet Junior Ciutat de L’Hospitalet, Porziņģis resumed his senior squad competitions. He played in just four minutes in the EuroCup on January 16, 2013, against Spartak Saint Petersburg. He did not score any points, but he did grab one rebound and dish out one assist.[14] In the senior team’s rematch with Spartak on February 20, 2013, Porziņģis scored his first basket. PorziņĻis stated, “I was anxious at first because I wanted to do well and avoid making mistakes. Playing against players my own age gave me a lot of confidence at the same time. I was able to practice with more confidence and perform better with the first squad as a result.”[4] With the senior squad, Porziņģis scored a season-high seven points on May 4, 2013, making two of three shots against Bilbao Basket in ACB play.[15]
2013–14: NBA consideration and a second season
On November 2, 2013, Porziņģis led Sevilla to an ACB victory by 20 points in his third game as a member of the starting lineup for his second season. The game took place against Laboral Kutxa, a team from the EuroLeague.[4] He finished with 12 points, 4 blocks, and 6 rebounds.[16] On November 30, 2013, Porziņģis broke his scoring record against Real Madrid once more, coming dangerously close to leading his team to victory.[4][16] On April 6, 2014, Porziņģis scored a career-high 20 points, making two three-pointers, against the same team.[16] Because of his performance, Porziņģis became popular on social media, even if his team lost. “It was a very good game for me on offense,” stated Porziņģis. In the game, I didn’t grab any rebounds. I could have done a better job on defense, but I had a nice shooting night. Nevertheless, I was pleased to receive a standing ovation from the Madrid supporters after I fouled out.”[4] He had the opportunity to play Barcelona’s Justin Doellman, whom he regarded as the “greatest power forward in Spanish basketball,” on May 25. Against Doellman’s squad, PorziņIJis scored 14 points.[4][16] Porziņģis was chosen for the 2013–14 ACB All-Young Players Team in May of 2014.[17]
