There is a lot of hype surrounding New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis this season, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get a lot of votes from fans for the All-Star Game. Though he is a popular player and playing in the largest market in the country, analyst and former coach Mark Jackson does not think Porzingis deserves an All-Star selection this year.
“He’s a heckuva talent. Hes going to be a great player. With that being said, I wouldn’t be thrilled about him being in the All Star game today,” Jackson said via ESPN’s Ian Begley. “He can go on and average 30 for the next month and I would say yes. But when you’re talking about putting together 12 guys on the All-Star team representing the Eastern Conference, he doesn’t deserve it.”
Porzingis is slowly making his case for the All-Star team, despite what Jackson says. He is averaging 14.2 points, 8.7 rebounds per game, and he leads the Knicks in PER.
Even if he doesn’t make the All-Star team as a starter — and he has a lot of competition with Paul Millsap, Kevin Love and Chris Bosh in the conference — he will make the rookie All-Star team. Karl-Anthony Towns and possibly Jahlil Okafor are probably his competition for Rookie of the Year at this point. And if he doesn’t make the All-Star team this season, Porzingis surely will lock up several selections in the future.
