The man who is now giving nightmares to the Dallas Mavericks used to play for them only two years ago. However, Kristaps Porzingis‘ stint with the Mavericks wasn’t as fruitful as many would have hoped it would be. After spending three years in Dallas, the Latvian was traded to the Washington Wizards. During a recent conversation with Malika Andrews of ESPN, Porzingis revealed how joining the Wizards proved to be a turning point in his career, that had failed to blossom in Dallas.
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As the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, KP was touted as a unicorn. He really spread his wings for the Mavericks where his unique skillset as a 7’3 shooter started paying dividends. The Mavs were even considered a dark horse in the playoffs due to KP’s tandem with Luka Doncic at the time.
Unfortunately, injuries marred his Dallas stint. The 28-year-old also revealed during the ESPN interview that he could only find his rhythm and joy back after he left the Mavericks. His stint with the Wizards apparently helped him find his mojo back.
He said, “A lot of times I was frustrated because I never got that rhythm that I really wanted. Once I got traded from Dallas to Washington, I feel like I got that joy back, I got that rhythm back and now I get the opportunity to showcase that talent and hopefully that rhythm that I’ve been searching for so long.”
Porzingis also talked about being sidelined for five weeks due to his recent injury. However, it didn’t affect him much because he was happy with the way his teammates were doing their job.
After letting the recovery take its time, Porzingis came out with a bang. “I proved to myself that I can do it and now I want to do it again… Until we achieve what we want to achieve,” he said about his Game 1 performance and plans for the rest of the series.
Kristaps Porzingis was the hero of Game 1
Porzingis has had his fair share of doubters throughout his career, who don’t think that he has the ability to change the outcome of the game on his own. However, the brilliant Game 1 performance from the Celtics star has changed many perceptions about him.
In a 107-89 win for his team, the Latvian dropped 20 points in just 21 minutes of playing time. He also went 8-of-13 from the field, two-for-four from the three point like and had six rebounds and three blocks by the end of the game.
During his conversation on Sportscenter, KP revealed that he will again come off the bench for Game 2. Going by the impact he had on the court in Game 1, Porzingis will be a major worry for the opposition.
