Following the Boston Celtics’ playoff loss to the New York Knicks, many think they may blow up the team and trade away key pieces.
Everyone on the Celtics roster is making a lot of money, led by Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both set to make north of $60 million a year. One of those impact players getting paid a lot is the team’s starting center, Kristaps Porziņģis.
Drafted out of Latvia No. 4 overall to the Knicks, Porziņģis was touted as “the original unicorn,” by Hoops Hype, as a 7-foot-3 center who could space the floor and had solid defensive ability.
Though the pick was originally hated by Knicks fans, when Porziņģis finally got on the court, his doubters were silenced. He averaged 14.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game en route to a No. 2 finish in the Rookie of the Year award race, losing to Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns.
Porziņģis’ time in New York was successful for him as a player, as he improved each year and was even named an All-Star in the 2017-2018 season after averaging 22.7 PPG and 6.6 RPG. He was the Knicks best player in a time where the team struggled, losing 53 games in that same season.
After an injury-prone 2018-2019 season, Porziņģis wanted out of New York. He was traded to Dallas in a deal centered around him and rising young guard Dennis Smith Jr.
In Dallas, Porziņģis became the running mate to their other budding star, Luka Dončić, as the two were the catalyst to many successful seasons. The team didn’t see much playoff success in Porziņģis’ time there, and they traded him to Washington at the 2021-2022 trade deadline for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.
Though Porziņģis had been passed around the league in only six years of playing, there was no doubting his talents. To this day, he is probably one of the 50 best players in the NBA, but he just couldn’t find a true home anywhere.
Porziņģis’ time in Washington was probably his best as a player, as in two years he averaged over 22 PPG and over 8 RPG. Though he was playing well, he was stuck in the same loop as his time in New York, having individual success but not team success.
Players who don’t contribute to overall team success often get the label of having “empty stats,” meaning they have great games, but don’t ever win those games. This label might have been given to Porziņģis if it wasn’t for his time in Boston.
Led by the aforementioned Tatum and Brown, the Celtics had been one of the best teams of the 2020s decade, finishing at or above .500 in every year since 2020. They even made the NBA Finals in the 2021-2022 season, losing to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Their surrounding crew of Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III and Malcolm Brogdon were not enough to get them over the hump, so they sent all of them away.
They first traded Smart, who was the heart and soul of the team for nearly a decade, along with Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala for Porziņģis, giving the Celtics a legit “big three.”
They then traded Williams III and Brogdon for Jrue Holiday, one of the league’s best defenders and a true impact player.
The Celtics’ starting five of Holiday, Derrick White, Brown, Tatum and Porziņģis instantly became the best in the league, and they became the favorites to win the the championship.
Under second-year head coach Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics won 64 games and made it to the finals to face off against the Mavericks.
The Celtics were a force in the playoffs, only losing two games prior to the finals. They did all this without Porziņģis, who injured his calf in game four of the first round against the Miami Heat.
The media liked to push the narrative that Dallas had the two best scorers in the series, in Doncic and Kyrie Irving. While both are naturally gifted scorers, Dallas lacked depth around their stars, making it hard for other players to take over games when the two had bad nights.
Porziņģis was set to return for game one, but the media really didn’t think it would make much of a difference in the series.
The media would then eat their words. In just 20 minutes off the bench, the big man scored 20 points on 8-13 from the field, and also tallied three blocks. He was probably the best player in that game thanks to his elite efficiency.
The Celtics would go on to win the finals in five games, thanks in large part to Porziņģis’ contributions off the bench.
Though his time in Boston may be cut short thanks to the team’s expensive roster, there is no doubting he helped change the culture in the city. He was a valuable piece to a contender, and was one of the team’s most consistent offensive pieces when he was on the floor.
Porziņģis seems to have shed the “empty stats” label that was often placed on him, and his contributions, which may end up being short-lived, will not go unnoticed by fans.
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