A young Kristaps Porzingis.
Carmelo Anthony was reportedly frustrated when the Knicks drafted Kristaps Porzingis in July, and an excellent Sports Illustrated profile of Porzingis that went online today gets into how the Latvian big man had to prove to his teammates that he belonged. In fact, the article pinpoints the moment when Porzingis won over Melo once and for all. Porzingis told him about the (now-internet-famous) cornrows he sported as a kid — in part because girls liked them, but also because he was inspired by the looks of Anthony and Allen Iverson. Said Anthony, with a laugh: “After that I was like, ‘All right, O.K., I’m riding with you from now on.’ The kid has an aura about him.”
