Knicks · Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis admits he’s not a fan of his ‘Zinger’ nickname (page 1)

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basket...

Don’t call him Zinger.

Kristaps Porzingis couldn’t really pinpoint why, other than a bad first impression, but the rookie sensation is not a fan of one of his more common nicknames.

He prefers “K.P.” but seems open to suggestions.

“I don’t like Zinger too much,” he said, citing the first reference to it from his American coach in Spain, Scott Roth. “He started calling me Zinger and it was just like, yeah. He was a good coach and I liked him but that nickname, at that moment, I didn’t like it that much.”

There are no shortage of nicknames for Porzingis on social media, with “Godzingis” emerging as a favorite. A Chinese journalist told Porzingis on Thursday that her country has already dubbed him “Po-God.”

“Ohh, OK,” Porzingis nodded.

Porzingis’ popularity reached an all-time high following his 29-point outburst against Charlotte on Tuesday, which followed a start to his NBA career ripe with putback dunk highlights and confident quotes. His No. 6 jersey has already sold out, according to the NBA, which will restock Friday.

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The 20-year-old Latvian said he gained 15,000 Twitter followers after punishing Charlotte.

“I tweeted after the game,” he said. “I was kind of active to keep the momentum going.”

Knicks coach Derek Fisher understands the hype around Porzingis has increased, but is confident his rookie can navigate the impending roller coaster.

“Seems like the expectations are starting to grow and that will be a different experience,” he said. “So he’ll have days where he’s handling it well, other days where he won’t so much. But I think he’s grounded in the right places. And even with the ups and downs and the times he didn’t look as good, I think we know we have something good on our hands. And as long as we’re committed to him we’ll be fine because he’s definitely committed to the process.”

GustavBahler wrote:Zingzilla?

how about just sticking with K.P.?

fishmike wrote:funny I just started following KP, Melo, Langston and Grant on instagram. KP really seems like a down to earth dude

for now :-(

mreinman wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Zingzilla?

how about just sticking with K.P.?

Party pooper.

GustavBahler wrote:

mreinman wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Zingzilla?

how about just sticking with K.P.?

Party pooper.

arkrud wrote:KRISP

Naw. It reminds me of those crappy shirts from that HBO show "How to Make it in America."

skeng wrote:

How has this not been recut with Knicks highlights yet?

Can someone get on that please...

I've been calling him Lordkingus though

kd works for durant, kg works for garnett. kp or kp6 is just fine.

If your'e going to use a military reference, use something more meaningful than peeling potatoes...

TAPS

Durant is just KD to a lot of folks.