Kristaps Porzingis Has Turned the Putback Dunk into an Art Form
Kristaps Porzingis is just 47 games into his NBA career with the New York Knicks, and he already has a signature move.
No, it's not his version of the "Dream Shake" made famous by former Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon, although Porzingis is quite good on the blocks for a 20-year-old rookie.
Porzingis has already won over the Madison Square Garden faithful by impersonating a Boeing 747 airplane and soaring over anybody in his path to throwing down a putback dunk.
The most recent example? A one-handed smash over Serge Ibaka in a double-overtime thriller three days ago.
Ibaka hasn't been the only one that's found himself on a poster this season. In November, Porzingis put the entire Toronto Raptors starting five on one poster.
The Milwaukee Bucks felt the wrath of Porzingis earlier this season as well after the Latvian star grabbed a miss on a free throw to keep a possession alive and then ended it as emphatically as one could.
Nobody's safe around the rim with Porzingis in the game.
Porzingis' dunks have become so popular that SB Nation's Seth Rosenthal created a brilliant (and hilarious) ad for cleanup necessities on the court and around the house.
It hasn't taken long for Porzingis to go from the guy that no one had a clue about to one of the league's most talked about players.
He even got his own commercial from ESPN to help promote one of their Friday doubleheaders earlier on this season.
Mind you, New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis and Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James were set to play against each other in the game after Porzingis and the Knicks played the Brooklyn Nets.
Porzingis has not one but two Latvian rap songs about him. His nightly highlight dunks have been a huge reason as to why everyone wants to see "The Zinger" (but don't call him that).
But, how has Porzingis made these dunks such a big part of his game?
There are a couple of different qualities that go into Porzingis firing up his poster machine.
Porzingis is a large human being
There's no telling what the diet is for athletes over in Latvia, but their consumption of food is working because Porzingis is massive.
You're bound to find various numbers on Porzingis' size, but DraftExpress.com has Porzingis at 7'3" and 230 pounds.
That's not a small man.
If players don't box him out, they have no chance
Ibaka was the one on Porzingis the other night when he threw down another putback dunk that was destined to break the Vine app.
The dunk was made possible not just by the length of Porzingis, but his ability to read the situation. Ibaka got caught watching the shot heading toward the rim, and Porzingis took advantage of putting himself in a position to make a play.
If you want to argue that Porzingis should have been called for a foul on his dunk over LaMarcus Aldridge, you have a case, but you'd be ruining the fun.
Not only is Porzingis becoming a frequent human highlight reel with his dunks. He's earning the respect of his fellow NBA peers.
Before the Knicks played the Oklahoma City Thunder this past Tuesday night in New York, OKC superstar Kevin Durant likened Porzingis to a "unicorn."
"He can shoot, he can make the right plays, he can defend, he's a 7-footer that can shoot all the way out to the 3-point line," Durant said, via Royce Young of ESPN.com.
"That's rare. And block shots—that's like a unicorn in this league."
So, that settles it, right?
Porzingis' new nickname is "The Unicorn"?
There's plenty of time to find Porzingis a proper nickname. He'll be in the NBA for a long, long time. Seven-footers with the ability to produce on both ends of the floor and throw down vicious dunks on opponents on a frequent basis have a place in the NBA.
Michael Whitlow is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. You can find the rest of Michael's work here and you can follow him on Twitter: @MAWhitlow.
.jpg?w=600 "Titans President Steps Down")
.jpg?w=600 "Best NFL Free Agents")
