Kristaps Porziņģis was born in Liepāja and is 2.16 meters tall. He speaks three languages, English, Spanish and his native Latvian. He is the third Latvian to be drafted by the NBA.
"It feels great... I'm excited to play in the basketball city [of New York]. I'm eager to play in the best league in the world," said Porziņģis, who was first congratulated by his parents who had went to New York for the draft.
Regarded as a talented all-round player, he surprised a number of Latvian fans by saying that learning Latvian is a waste of time in an interview, though he later posted an apology video on Facebook.
