The Great Latvian Hope

The New York Knicks has been the NBA’s laughing stock for more than a decade. I recall that they once had the league’s highest payroll during the Isiah Thomas era and produced worst-league records. The team has been in the doldrums for too long that they brought in NBA coaching legend Phil Jackson as President in March 2014. Despite the retooling under Phil Jackson, the Knicks were saddled with hefty contracts and were unable to get quality players. As a result, the Knicks finished the 2014-2015 season with the worst record in franchise history (17-65).

Due to their terrible record, the Knicks won the 4th overall pick in the lottery plus a 19th pick with their trade to the Atlanta Hawks. The 2015 Draft Class was considered one of the more talented in recent history and it was a surprise to Knicks fans when the team used their high pick to choose the 7-3 Kristaps Porzingis, a Latvian barely out of his teens who was basically an unknown quantity. The pick was so unpopular that Knicks fans actually booed when Porzingis’ name was announced in June 2015.