Kristaps Porzingis

Kristaps Porzingis was born in Liepaja, Latvia, to Talis and Ingrida Porzingis. He comes from a family of basketball players. His father played semi-professional hoops and his mother played on Latvia's youth national teams. Porzingis' oldest brother, Janis, played for 14 years in multiple European national domestic leagues, and another older brother, Martins, played basketball in Latvia. Kristaps started to play basketball when he was six years old and later played in youth competition with BK Liepajas Lauvas in his hometown of Liepaja until he was 15 years old. In 2010, the Spanish club Baloncesto Sevilla recruited Porzingis for a tryout, aiming to add foreign talent to its junior squads. Porzingis began playing for Sevilla's youth squad in 2012. In his second year with the team, he posted per-game averages of 16.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks. When Porzingis made his NBA debut in 2015, he became the third Latvian-born player in league history. During his second NBA season, he began the KrisStops program, donating $500 for each shot he blocked to RENS, a New York youth basketball program. Porzingis also competed for Team World at NBA Africa Game 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa program. Learn more about "The Unicorn" by following him on Twitter and on Instagram (@kporzee). Prior to coming to the NBA, Porzingis spent four seasons playing for Sevilla, a team that competes in Liga ACB in Spain. He spent the 2011 season with the junior squad and put up a double-double in his first game. The center did not play much in his first season with the first team in his rookie season in 2012-13. He received significant playing time on the second team, however, and he posted 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks in his season debut. After the season, he was named to the ACB All-Young Players Team. He considered declaring himself for the 2014 NBA Draft, but he withdrew his name just before the draft. In his third season with Sevilla, he was named the EuroCup Rising Star, becoming the youngest player to win the award. He was named to the ACB All-Young Players Team for the second year in a row. With another year of experience under his belt, Porzingis declared for the 2015 NBA Draft and was selected by the New York Knicks with the fourth overall pick.