National Basketball Association

New York Knicks: Kristaps Porzingis To Compete In NBA Skills Challenge

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:21 p.m. ET

Fansided, Richard Bertin/FanSided via Daily Knicks

New York Knicks rising star Kristaps Porzingis has been selected to compete in the 2017 NBA Skills Challenge at All-Star Weekend.

At least one member of the New York Knicks will make it to All-Star Weekend. On Thursday, it was announced that Kristaps Porzingis will be a part of the always interesting NBA Skills Challenge.

He’ll be showcasing his skills on a national stage and have a shot at being the tallest player to ever win the competition.

It’s been a rough season, but with Carmelo Anthony missing his first All-Star game in close to a decade, it’s positive news for the Knicks to have at least some representation over All-Star Weekend.

According to NBA.com, Porzingis actually received more All-Star votes then Anthony from the media and players, so it seems that he’s on the cusp of finally making it as an All-Star the old fashioned way.

Perhaps next season will be the year he makes the jump of finally becoming an official NBA All-Star.

Porzingis will also be a part of this year’s Rising Stars game as a sophomore on the World team. Though these games aren’t to be taken that seriously, last year Porzingis had a fantastic game with 30 points.

All-Star Weekend is always an important part of a young player’s development since it’s one of the first times they get massive exposure from fans that don’t watch them during the year.

Yet, another popular Knicks rookie, Willy Hernangomez won’t be joining him. Hernangomez’s recent hot streak wasn’t enough to get him on the World team, but if he received Joakim Noah’s minutes, it might be a different story.

Hernangomez making the team would have been a great boost of confidence for the young center, but it remains to be seen if he can continue drawing comparisons to Marc Gasol over the rest of the season.

I for one will be looking forward to seeing Porzingis unleashed over All-Star weekend. It’s a nice break from all the bad losses that have piled up over the season.

It will also be interesting to see how Porzingis handles competing with stars such as Karl Anthony-Towns, Joel Embid, and Anthony Davis.