Kristaps Porzingis

Bio:
Kristaps Porziņģis (born August 2, 1995 in Liepaja, Latvia) is a Latvian professional basketball player. Kristaps began playing basketball at age 6, participating in youth competitions with BK Liepajas Lauvas, his hometown’s most famous club. After a sports agent sent a video of him around to teams in Spain and Italy, Kristaps was given a 2010 try-out with the Sevilla basketball club in Spain. He was given a contract and started playing with the Associacion de Clubs de Baloncesto team. In 2012, Kristaps was promoted from the youth squad to the senior professional Cajasol Sevilla team. Despite the team suffering many loses during his second season, Kristaps’s star started to rise due to his performance. In the 2014-2015 season, Kristaps continued to improve, recording double-double performances and winning the Eurocup Rising award for the season. In 2014, Kristaps declared himself eligible for the 2014 NBA draft. Though he drew interest from such teams as the Orlando Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kristaps withdrew his name from the draft. At the time, Kristaps claimed he didn’t feel prepared to become part of the NBA and wanted to improve before joining the league. In 2015, Kristaps entered the draft once more and was picked by the New York Knicks in the first round.

Best Known For:
Kristaps Porzingis is best known as a professional basketball player from Latvia, drafted by the New York Knicks in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Personal Life:
Kristaps suffers from anemia. Kristaps’s father competed semi-professionally in basketball before becoming a bus driver. His mother played on the Latvia women’s youth national basketball team and Kristap’s two brothers are also avid players.