Kristaps Porzingis is the next shining star who is regarded as one of the tallest active players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a power forward and center positions player, Porzingis has played for the New York Knicks (2015-2018) and later joined the Dallas Mavericks in 2019.
The Latvian professional basketball player started out his pro career with EuroLeague team Sevilla in 2011, to become the youngest ever recipient of the EuroCup Basketball Rising Star award in 2015, at the age of 18. Porzingis got selected fourth overall by the Knicks after declaring for the NBA draft.
More than basketball, there’s a lot to learn about Kristaps Porzingis’ rise to stardom from 2016. Not only does he stick to the proper exercise routine, but his diet also counts if his weight and height are of any indication. A glimpse of his background would be a head start to getting to know the latest NBA sensation.
Kristaps Porzingis Biography (Age)
Kristaps Porzingis was born in Liepāja, Latvia on August 2, 1995, into a family with sports history including his parents and his older brother Jānis, who is a former professional basketball player in Europe. Porzingis started playing basketball at age 6 and the time he turned 12, he was participating in a youth competition in the famous club based in his hometown, known as the BK Liepājas Lauvas. In 2010, he landed a contract to play for the Spain-based team, Baloncesto Sevilla, and has continued to make waves in the NBA.
As smooth as his career seems, the Latvian was diagnosed with anemia by a nutritionist for Sevilla, Inmaculada Avivar. The ailment hampered his ability to exercise as he would often feel fatigued and shortness of breath, but he gradually overcame the condition to improve in the game.
Since starting his professional basketball career, Porzingis has scored career-high points and participated in several victory games with his team. On November 21, 2015, he became the first 20-year-old to post seven blocked shots, 24 points, and 14 rebounds in a single game of 107 – 102 win for the Knicks against Houston Rockets, since Shaquille O’Neal in 1992–1993.
He played his rookie season with the New York Knicks (2015–2019), but before then, he was playing for the European basketball league from 2013 to 2015, before entering the 2015 NBA draft.
Porzingis was traded on 31 January 2019, to the Dallas Mavericks.
Height and Weight
As at the time Kristaps Porzingis signed his first contract to play for the Spanish club Baloncesto Sevilla around 2010, he stood at 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m) and weighed 157 lbs (71 kg). And now, he stands at a whopping height of 7 feet 3 inches and weighing 240 lb (109 kg).
Like most NBA players, height remains a great advantage and Porzingis towering posture, strength and skills singles him out of the crowd.
Diet
Basketball is no child’s play and like all NBA stars, Kristaps Porzingis is holding his own on a massive diet to match up to his carcass to the prestigious game. For someone who works out multiple times a day, gluttonous and clean eating should be the norm.
During an interview in 2015, with ESPN, the power forward revealed that he eats at least 5, 000 calories each day as advised by a Knick nutritionist. He sticks to a low-carb and high-protein diet, and never has an empty stomach in other to gain the necessary weight for the sport. He eats big meals and allowing more time in between each one, so long as he doesn’t stay on empty stomach for too long.
For him, clean eating involves the following:
Breakfast – Coffee before work out
Lunch – first meal of the day that is high in protein, good fats and very low carb or none o some occasions – Avocado or Salmon/tuna.
Late lunch(3:00 or 4:00) – second meal of the day after a proper rest would be the same as lunch with more carbs
Diner – Similar high in protein, good fats, and very low carb, followed by vitamins and supplements. No sugar and almost no dairy products.
Make no mistake, Porzingis eats “Everything,” like some of us – from Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, especially the cookie dough kind, to Zing dark chocolate coconut vitality bar.
Exercise
Kristaps Porzingis has gained a tremendous weight over the years since participating in the Knicks five-week weight-training program and still maintaining a straight diet and exercise routine. He had also trained hard in the 2017 – 2018 basketball season with weight lifting and boxing.
Other exercise workout routines include full-body press up/push up, tennis, and of course balling practice.
Kristaps Porzingis’ Salary
Porzingis’ salary is reported to be more than $5.6 million. His trade to the Mavericks on January 31, 2019, is said to pave way for two max free agents, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee, to sign in New York for a combined due of $30.3 million over the 2019 – 2020 season.
Meanwhile, his salary for 2019/2020 is estimated at over $7.5 million, which is not so bad for the injured forward.
