New York Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis Makes Rising Stars Challenge

For the second consecutive season, New York Knicks phenom Kristaps Porzingis has made the cut for the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge.

The New York Knicks are in the midst of season that could be accurately described as gut-wrenching and disastrous. Since beginning the 2016-17 NBA regular season at 16-13, the Knicks have fallen to 20-26 with a stretch of four wins in 17 games.

As the Knicks search for reasons to be optimistic, All-Star Weekend will provide fans with a reminder of how bright the future is.

The team record is tough to overlook, but Kristaps Porzingis remains one of the most promising players in the NBA. He’s a 7’3″ anomaly who combines size, athleticism, coordination, and skill in a way the Association has never seen before.

This coming February, Porzingis will be honored for what he’s accomplished already and what the future holds when he participates in the 2017 Rising Stars Challenge.

This will be Porzingis’ second consecutive appearance at the event.

Porzingis will have a chance to take the floor with Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, and Dario Saric at the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. All five of those players are rising stars who have the chance to redefine the way the game is played.

Perhaps more importantly, all four players will take part in rivalries that could define the NBA for the next decade plus.

If there’s no other reason to be optimistic, then as Knicks fans, you’d be justified to be intrigued by Porzingis’ appearance alongside his promising peers.

Porzingis and Jokic are European big men with alluring skill sets, which has inevitably created a media-driven rivalry. Embiid and Saric are teammates on the Philadelphia 76ers who will compete with Porzingis and the Knicks for the Atlantic Division title for years to come.

For one night, those future rivals will have a chance to lead the World Team against the U.S. Team at the 2017 Rising Stars Challenge.

With averages of 18.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.9 blocks, and 2.0 3-point field goals made per game, Porzingis earned this opportunity.