Kristaps Porzingis has become somewhat of a phenomenon for the New York Knicks this season. Porzingis seems more likely to last than previous phenomenon Jeremy Lin, who was more of a flash in the pan, but the rookie doesn't come without his concerns. Porzingis' weight was one of the biggest red flags about him before the draft and after the Knicks selected him and they hoped he would eventually put some muscle on his 7-foot-3 frame. Porzingis' weight has fluctuated a lot in his rookie season but he may have found a way to keep it where it currently is, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
When Porzingis was drafted by the Knicks (fourth overall) he weighed just 227 pounds which, when you're 7-foot-3, is quite light. After the summer league though Porzingis worked his butt off to put on some weight and he did just that. At the start of training camp Porzingis weighed in at 238 pounds meaning he put on a solid 11 pounds in just a couple of months.
The recent issue for Porzingis has been maintaining that weight. When the season started Porzingis had lost a lot of the weight he put on as he was back down to 233 pounds by December. Recently though, the Knicks have changed Porzingis' diet and sleeping patterns to ensure he doesn't continue to lose the weight.
"Now I'm maintaining it, I lost a little bit at the beginning of the season. It was hard to maintain that, but I've been staying at the same weight and I got to maintain this weight for sure. Once the season is over, I'll try to get up to 245 pounds for next season," said Porzingis.
Porzingis has been advised by the Knicks new dietician to eat a much bigger breakfast and to go to sleep earlier which is exactly what he has done. The rookie said before he received this advice he would not worry too much about breakfast but now he eats large portions in the morning. Porzingis hopes to be up to 245 pounds by next season and it would be tough to bet against him as he is an extremely hard worker by all accounts.
With the weight issues came the questions about Porzingis' durability but so far that hasn't even been close to an issue. Porzingis has appeared in 49 of the Knicks 50 games so far this season and has held up pretty well. The rookie has slowed down a little bit since his hot start but that was to be expected. Overall Porzingis has been a pleasant surprise as a rookie and is already one of the Knicks best players.
