Very good during international windows leading Latvia, Kristaps Porzingis confirmed that he had returned to his best level, and we had already had a glimpse of it at the end of the season, after his arrival at the Wizards.
In a complicated end to the season, he did not have time to work on his automatisms with Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma, and this will therefore be one of his priorities for the preseason.
« I think I fit very well with Brad and Kuz. I’m here to be useful, to help win matches. I want to win, and I’m ready to do whatever it takes to win, and that’s it. I can’t wait for this year. I can’t wait to exceed expectations and make some noise. »
Another mission: to silence observers like those of ESPN who have just ranked him 86th in their annual ranking of the best NBA players.
« This year I come with extra pressure due to the ESPN rankings » confirmed Kristaps Porziņgis at a press conference. « I use that as fuel, energy, and I can’t wait to show what I can do, to remind everyone what I can do on both sides of the pitch. »
Less kilos to dominate in defense
To achieve this, KP lost a few pounds, and he believes it was important to get back to being the player he was, chosen for the All-Star Game in 2018 before injuring his knee. ” Frankly, I realized that being overweight wasn’t really helping me… I need to be strong and light. This is how I feel best« .
Especially in defense where the Latvian wants to take advantage of his mobility to dominate in the paint.
« Defensively, it goes hand in hand with mobility and being a bit lighter » poursuit Kristaps Porzingis. « I want to be a top player again in protecting the circle. That’s what I try to do every season, but I felt like I didn’t have the same downforce speed and was able to be explosive. So I think with less pounds and strong legs, I’m going to be able to get back to being as mobile as I need to be to be a top defender. »
| Kristaps Porzingis | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saison | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2015-16 | NOW | 72 | 28 | 42.1 | 33.3 | 83.8 | 1.8 | 5.5 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 14.3 |
| 2016-17 | NOW | 66 | 33 | 45.0 | 35.7 | 78.6 | 1.7 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 1.5 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 18.1 |
| 2017-18 | NOW | 48 | 32 | 43.9 | 39.5 | 79.3 | 1.3 | 5.3 | 6.6 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 22.7 |
| 2019-20 | DAL | 57 | 32 | 42.7 | 35.2 | 79.9 | 1.8 | 7.7 | 9.5 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 20.4 |
| 2020-21 | DAL | 43 | 31 | 47.6 | 37.6 | 85.5 | 1.9 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 20.1 |
| 2021-22 * | All Teams | 51 | 29 | 45.9 | 31.0 | 86.7 | 2.0 | 6.1 | 8.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 20.2 |
| 2021-22 * | DAL | 34 | 30 | 45.1 | 28.3 | 86.5 | 1.9 | 5.8 | 7.7 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 19.2 |
| 2021-22 * | WAS | 17 | 28 | 47.5 | 36.7 | 87.1 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 8.8 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 22.1 |
| Total | 337 | 31 | 44.4 | 35.3 | 82.0 | 1.8 | 6.1 | 7.9 | 1.6 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 18.9 | |