It takes one great player to see that another one is coming. Sooner than everyone anticipated or even predicted. When the Dallas Mavericks visited the New York Knicks on Monday night, Dirk Nowitzki was on the bench, in street clothes, nursing an Achilles injury. It's the 4th straight game that the German All-Star's watching from the sidelines. It may seem like he's staring at a mirror. Watching himself play. A younger version of himself in the name of Kristaps Porzingis.
Porzingis already showed glimpses of what he can do during his rookie season last year. This season he's shown that he can do more.
The 2nd year player from Latvia torched the Dallas Mavericks with 24 points and 11 rebounds in a 93-77 New York Knicks win that snapped a 2 game losing streak. So good was Porzingis on this game that he even did a vintage Dirk one-legged step-back jumper in the fourth quarter and a stare down to the man himself after making the shot.
"He was staring me down. That was cold-blooded," said Nowitzki.
The similarities on both players are hard to miss. Both are 7 footers. Can shoot the ball from the outside. Can post up and can handle the ball.
After the game, Porzingis left an indelible impact on Nowitzki.
"He's not only a 7-footer but he is like 7-4 out there with an 8-5 wingspan," Nowitzki said. "He's got an incredible touch. He can move. He can dribble. He can put it on the floor more now. He is going to be a great player in this league for a long, long time."
Porzingis said he appreciates the praise given to him by Nowitzki. He also added that Nowitzki served as his inspiration growing up.
The two players are supposed to work out together before the season started according to Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek. He tried to schedule a workout between the two but it didn't materialize because of conflicts in their schedules, Dirk with some scheduling issues while Kristaps has some health issues. The two hope that they could work out together this coming off season.
"I am a huge fan of his game. Obviously the sky is the limit for him," Nowitzki said. "He's got the deep ball. He's got the in-between game. He is working on his post-ups. He is the real deal."
With the way Prozingis played on Monday night, definitely the sky is the limit for him.
