Kristaps Porzingis is becoming one of the biggest stars in the NBA. While the Knicks were on their recent West Coast road trip, Porzingis had the chance to take a break from helping the team make the playoffs and go to Disneyland. The story will soon be in ESPN the Magazine (we’ll let the shameless cross-promotion between ESPN and Disney go for the sake of Kristaps). It began with Kristaps yelling, “Look, I peed my pants!”Could you picture Porzingis saying that while wearing Mickey Mouse ears and singing “Porzingis peed his pants, Porzingis peed his pants!”? His behind would be wet from taking a river rapids ride at Disneyland.
Some of the rides at Disneyland were too big for Porzingis, which made him very sad. “It must be nice to be short,” he told Sam Alipour, a writer who is 5 feet 7 inches tall. It was easy to go on the rides with him.
Porzingis has always wanted to go to Disneyland since he was a child in Latvia.
“It began with cartoons,” I remember the first thing I saw. What is it? Mickey Mouse? I saw Mickey on TV while I was in Latvia. I love Winnie the Pooh so much! That’s the guy I like. You wish you could see them in person. That’s why kids want to come here so much. We’re grown men, but we’re still having fun here—look at what they built! This is amazing. American people know how to have fun, that’s for sure.
After saying that the world is too small for him because he’s so tall and that he’s having fun spinning teacups while his teammates are bored in their hotel, Porzingis was able to talk about a lot more than just how much he loves Winnie the Pooh. For example, he could have talked about his favorite Disney movie, The Lion King, or the first English swear word he learned in the locker room, the F-bomb.
How movies can help you learn English:
“That is how you learn. You learn more things every time you watch a movie. With the guy from The Office, I watched a lot of John Wick and Dinner for Schmucks. That was something I watched over and over.”
About how he sees immigrants coming to the US:
“Everyone is nice. Not all the time. Though not overly friendly, New Yorkers are still pretty friendly. They also work hard and are passionate about what they do. I also like that no one will know who you are or your past when you leave the United States. In Latvia, everyone knows everyone else, and no matter what happens, word gets around fast. It’s not very big.
Porzingis is still getting better as a player and a star, which is helped by playing for the Knicks in New York. He still doesn’t understand a lot of the fuss and big deal. He said, “To be honest, I have no idea what’s going on around me.” “New York is a big stage, but all I do is play basketball and try to stay the same.” That’s why my family being close by keeps me from running away.
At the time, it was said that Carmelo Anthony wasn’t happy with his choice, but Melo isn’t unhappy now. He wondered if he had ever heard that from Anthony: “No, he didn’t tell me that.” He told me right away that he liked my game, but he didn’t know me very well. He’s now like a big brother and a teacher. He has played the game for a long time and knows all the rules. I asked him for help with everything I needed, and he did it.”
Even though he’s only 21 and in his second NBA season, Porzingis has set some pretty high goals for himself. “The main goal is to get a ring.” I do have an idea: points, boards, assists, and blocks all in one game. That’s not possible. I don’t want to limit myself, as I said. So who knows, maybe one day.” “Yeah, for sure,” he said when asked if he could hit a triple-double one day. With ten blocks. “Why don’t you?”
The fact that Porzingis has become a real league-wide star and a key part of a possible Knicks renaissance is becoming less and less shocking over time. But Kristaps is staying straight on the court, even though he can be a bit silly off it.
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