Kristaps Porzingis or Karl-Anthony Towns: Whose Start Is More Impressive?
The NBA's early Rookie of the Year race is as crowded as it's been in quite some time.
So far, though, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis seem to be leading the pack. In less than a month of NBA service time, each has managed to rejuvenate a suffering franchise and reinvigorate scores of once-forlorn fans.
Towns, the No. 1 pick out of Kentucky, has lived up to that top billing and then some. He's proven to be a quick study under mentor, teammate and frontcourt partner Kevin Garnett and might already be the Minnesota Timberwolves' best and most impactful all-around player.
Porzingis, the No. 4 pick from Latvia by way of Spain, has ridden the periodic New York Knicks hype train to a prominent spot on the marquee at Madison Square Garden. Along the way, he's turned Carmelo Anthony, once a supposed skeptic, into one of his staunchest supporters.
Both clearly have bright futures in basketball, but which of these potentially franchise-changing talents has been better to date?
At a Glance
By and large, Towns has been the more productive of the two rookies from the get-go. He ranks second among rookies in scoring (16 points per game), behind only Jahlil Okafor, and paces his peers in rebounding (10.4 boards per game) and shot-blocking (2.4 blocks per game).
Porzingis isn't all that far behind Towns, statistically speaking. Within his class, the "Zinger" is a top-three scorer (13.2 points), rebounder (8.8 rebounds) and shot-blocker (1.5 blocks).
But where Porzingis' numbers are great for a player of his experience, Towns' are already elite compared to the entire league.
He's sixth in rebounding, ahead of All-Stars like Anthony Davis, LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol and Chris Bosh. He's tied for fifth in blocks, neck-and-neck with elite rim protectors like Roy Hibbert and Serge Ibaka.
And only Andre Drummond, the league leader in rebounding, and Russell Westbrook, tops in the Association in assists, can claim more double-doubles than Towns' eight.
Porzingis, though, is no slouch. He already has six double-doubles to his credit.
The Details: Offense
Towns' eye-popping box scores don't mean he's the more polished player between the two. As one scout told Sporting News' Sean Deveney:
"The funny thing to me is, if you look at the numbers, you would assume he has it all figured out, that he is pretty much NBA-ready. But if you watch him, he is not even close. He's still sort of confused about a lot of things out there. I mean that in a good way, because it is like he is doing all that he is doing on just his instincts and his natural ability.
"
Porzingis has plenty of his own rough edges to sand down, but his skills are already evident. His outside stroke is smooth and effortless, especially for a player of his size (7’3”). He shoots it with confidence from anywhere and at any moment, as he did on a near-game-winner against the Charlotte Hornets:
His overall percentages (42.7 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from three) are far from sparkling, though he’s upped the ante considerably since Veteran’s Day:
| Before | 8 | 23.7 | 11.8 | 10.9 | 37.9% | 21.7% |
| After | 6 | 29.3 | 15.2 | 11.7 | 48.6% | 43.8% |
"His shooting stroke is as pure as any big to come into the NBA ... as good as Dirk's,” Scott Roth, who worked with a young Dirk Nowitzki in 1999 and with Porzingis in Spain, told ESPN’s Marc Stein. “He also has no fear and, more importantly, he has no ego. This is just a great kid with a great work ethic and a real love of the game.”
The same could just as easily be said of Towns. He may not have the freedom to launch the nearly three threes per game that Porzingis does, but he’s actually outshooting his Knicks counterpart inside the arc:
| Towns | 67.3% | 44.7% | 42.9% | 50% |
| Porzingis | 55.3% | 40.6% | 35% | 50% |
“We all know I can hit 3s,” he told ESPN’s Zach Lowe. “But for now, I’m taking what the defense gives me.”
The Details: Defense
Despite his wiry frame (7’3”, 240 pounds), Porzingis has done a decent job of locking down the paint. According to NBA.com, he has held opponents to 49.4 percent shooting at the rim, ahead of average across the Association (61.5 percent, per Basketball Reference).
Towns, though, has held his foes to a lower percentage at the rim (45.5 percent) while facing nearly twice as many attempts (10.3) as has Porzingis (5.9). It helps that he, at 7'0" and 250 pounds, has a stronger build to throw around.
Not that Towns isn’t susceptible to getting smacked by more experienced opponents. In his fourth game, Towns managed just six points on 3-of-13 shooting against Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside.
His Timberwolves lost that game but have since bounced back to beat the Heat in Miami, courtesy of a 14-point, 14-rebound effort from Towns.
As it happens, Minnesota and New York have each given up 100.7 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com. Porzingis, though, has had a more dramatic effect on the Knicks’ defense than Towns has had on that of the T-Wolves:
| Defensive Efficiency ON | 97.5 | 99.3 |
| Defensive Efficiency OFF | 104.4 | 103 |
| Differential | +6.9 | +4.3 |
And if wins and losses count when considering these two, Porzingis' 8-6 Knicks come out ahead of Towns' 5-8 Timberwolves.
Pick Your Rookie
In some respects, Porzingis should be more of a game-changer than Towns right now and not just because he’s three-and-a-half months older. In basketball years, the gap is greater than that. While Porzingis was honing his game against seasoned pros in Spain, Towns was busy dominating teenagers at the high school and college levels.
In the bigger picture, Towns has had the better start, despite what all the hubbub in the Big Apple would suggest. While Porzingis' production has been a plus for a veteran Knicks squad, Towns might already be Minnesota's best player.
But the first four weeks of basketball won't likely define the careers of these two precocious talents. At some point, both will be tasked with taking leading roles in the renaissances of their respective franchises.
For now, they can focus on becoming the best ballplayers they can—and chasing the Eddie Gottlieb Trophy.
All stats are accurate as of games played on Nov. 22, 2015.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
