Finally, New York Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis and future Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki will finally face off and it will definitely be a delight to watch and see if the comparisons are accurate.
Before the game's shoot-around, Porzingis talked about Dirk's legacy and how he has inspired kids like him to thrive in the NBA.
"He's one of the best of all time," Porzingis told reporters. "Dirk's just amazing. I want to be as great as a shooter as he is one day, hopefully."
"I'm just trying to walk in his footsteps. I would like to be as great as he is," he said.
As much as he looks up to the German forward, he also said that he would take any advice from Dirk on how to become successful in this league.
"If he has something to say to me, some advice or something, obviously, I'll listen to him," Porzingis said.
Meanwhile, Dirk talked about how every 7-foot, European prospects who can shoot will be compared to him. But seeing Porzingis, he just knows that the Latvian will be something amazing.
"Every tall European now who comes over and can shoot is going to be compared to me, but he looks like he's for real. He's got a lot of ways to go, but the upside this kid has is just tremendous," Dirk said via ESPN.
He also said one thing that Porzingis have that he didn't in his first year in the NBA, confidence.
"As a rookie, I was struggling," Nowitzki said. "You know, it's almost like these young kids come in the league now with confidence, expecting to make it in this league. That's something that I never had. I didn't know if I was going to make it in this league. I had no confidence the first year. I was struggling. These kids are just coming in here carefree and confident, and it's showed from day one for him."
