In 2015 , the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York hosted the NBA draft for the first time. After the first 3 picks had come and gone, the hometown New York Knicks were on the clock with their highest pick in 30 years and the arena was flush with nervousness. The New York fans, who are notorious for booing their own franchises, were waiting anxiously, hoping that the next great Knick would be drafted on that night. With that pick the New York Knicks selected the 19 year old Latvian superstar Kristaps Porzingis, and the fans responded by erupting into a chorus of vicious boos. I was there and among the thousands of booing fans, witnessing the mass hysteria trying to figure out what had just happened. I was one of the many fans that left their seats in the immediate moments after that pick. Wearing my 1999 Patrick Ewing jersey and throwback Knicks hat walking through the lobbies to get to the concession stand, I shared longing looks with every Knicks fan that walked past, each one of us sending our understanding sympathies to one another. No words were necessary at the time, the only thing any of us could say was one word, “why?”. That was the question on every person in that arena’s mind. Why? Why would the Knicks do this? How could they do it again? How could they waste the best draft pick they have had in 30 years, the best draft pick since Ewing?

In the 6 months since I was there booing at the top of my lungs, I have questioned it over and over again, why did we boo, why did I boo him? The bigger problem here lies within the New York Knicks organization, who had drafted only 2 all stars in the last 30 years since Patrick Ewing, Mark Jackson in 1987 and David Lee in 2005. So in a way we were expected to hate the draft pick, it was a New York Knick tradition, why would we expect anything less?

This was not a loaded draft class by any standards, but the top 3 prospects were all perceived “can’t miss” players by all accounts: Karl Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and Jahlil Okafor. Towns was the guaranteed first pick, but when Russell went second overall to the Lakers that left hope for Knicks fans in the arena and around the world. With the Philadelphia 76ers on the clock and having taken 2 big men with top 10 picks in the last two years, there was a chance they would pass on national champion center Jahlil Okafor, and he would fall to the Knicks so he could become the next Patrick Ewing. When Okafor was selected by the 76ers, (Trust the Process) the mood in the room completely deflated and you could feel the stress building among every Knicks fan in the arena as they became aware of the situation, knowing that they were destined to draft an unproven European player with the 4th pick of the draft.

There is this stigma of top rated European draft picks, especially European big men, that they will not be able to compete in the NBA with the bigger and bulkier low past players of America. While names of European top 5 draft picks Darko Milicic and Nikoloz Tskitishvili were not so easy to say, their names were easy to compare, being the top 5 draft picks that never averaged above 6 points a game in the NBA. However, that night the name that kept getting thrown around in New York was Frederic Weis, a name most casual fans would not be familiar with. That is because Weis, who was the 15th pick of the draft for the Knicks in 1999, never played a game in the NBA throughout his 12 year professional career. If you do recognize the name, it is likely for getting dunked on by Vince Carter. Like Weis, Porzingis stands a few inches beyond the illustrious 7 foot mark that so greatly signifies the giants of the National Basketball Association. While Weis was starting his professional career in his home country of France in the year of 1995, Kristaps Porzingis was just being born in Liepāja, Latvia. By the time he was drafted at 19 years old, Porzingis had been playing professionally in Spain for 3 years already where he averaged 8.2 points per game respectively during his formative years when most kids are going to high school. Still, that was not enough to win over the tough and stubborn fans of New York, but I am not sure what would have been. We did not want to give him a chance, we did not think he deserved that chance. The fans in my section in the upper deck corner closest to Adam Silver’s podium discussed before the pick was even made who we would boo, but not why. We did not talk about Kristaps Porzingis’ stats or accolades, nor did we discuss his God given height and athletic ability or that he was flush with potential, none of that mattered. What mattered to us was that he was this goofy, European, big man, what mattered to us was that he was the next Frederic Weis.

Kristaps Porzingis handled the whole situation with grace and dignity, he did not curse his draft pick like Zach Levine when drafted to the Minnesota Timberwolves, instead he hugged Adam Silver with a smile on his face like it was the greatest moment of his life. Even after he was booed, it was hard to have anything but the utmost respect for a guy who said things like “I mean a lot of fans weren’t happy that they drafted me, but I have to do everything that’s in my hands to turn those booing fans into clapping hands”. Now a little over 30 games into the season, that is exactly what he is doing. The 13 points and 8 rebounds a game that he is averaging is just shy of top 3 big men Jahlil Okafor and Karl Anthony Towns out of Duke and Kentucky. Not only is he doing it statistically on the court, he is doing it with an energy and bringing highlight plays to the Knicks that they haven’t had in years. There is a certain excitement right now with this team, that a 14-19 team with guys like Lance Thomas and Langston Galloway contributing does not deserve to have, and that is because of Kristaps Porzingis.

Regardless of if Kristaps Porzingis is the future of the Knicks organization or not, and he may not be, he clearly is a step in the right direction. That is a step that the Knicks have not had in a long time, he is a shining light in one of the darkest organizations in professional sports. A team that plays in “The World’s Most Famous Arena” in the biggest city in the world and can go after every big name free agent on the market has won exactly one playoff series in the last 15 years. Not only have they not won in the playoffs, but they have rarely had a young talent to get behind and support. Now maybe Kristaps wont be Dirk 2.0 and maybe he won’t be the next Knicks great and lead them to their first championship in 45 years, but that doesn’t matter, not right now anyways. What matters is that he is exceeding every possible expectation that the city of New York for him, or anyone else for that matter. What matters is when asked about the kid who posted an instagram selfie crying after he was drafted, Kristaps responded, “I hear he has my jersey now.” Kristaps was mocked when he said he would turn the booing fans into clapping hands, but that is exactly what he has done.

Kristaps did not deserve the reaction he got on that night, but do I deserve to now root for him night in and night out? I was not alone, I was among a couple thousand fellow fans of all ages that joined me in this madhouse of yelling and screaming. So why do I feel personally responsible for that attack on Kristaps Porzingis? I had no reason to boo him, there was no other option at the time, but this is what a lifetime of New York sports fandom will do to you. That is what happened to Kristaps Porzingis, he was a victim of the bad luck associated with the New York Knicks. Now, the Knicks fans who were so upset on that night because of the assumed bust that had just been drafted are supporting him like he is God’s gifts to earth, and I am no different. I wear my “Three Six Latvia” shirt with pride supporting my favorite Knick in quite some time, (although comparisons could be made to the Jeremy Lin jersey that I wore in high school) and Porzingis jerseys can be found all around New York and at Knicks games around the country, but do we deserve this? Kristaps Porzingis, I am sorry. I am sorry on the behalf of an entire fan base that has been tortured for the last fifty years. I am sorry that we booed you on June 25th, and even more so I am sorry that we did not give you a chance, that we expected you to fail. You have given us more than we deserve, and far more than we have given you. You have given us hope and reignited our passion, and for that I thank you.