Kristaps Porzingis has a personal goal for 2016-17, and it’s not to bring back his famous cornrows from his grade school days. Instead, KP wants to record the first quadruple-double in NBA history since 1994.
From the New York Daily News:
If you’re not familiar, a quadruple-double (or quad-double / 4X2 / quad-deuce to the cool kids) is recording a double-digit statistic in four categories.
The last player to do this was San Antonio Spurs legend David Robinson in ’94, although the NYDN does point out that Jason Kidd once recorded double-digit turnovers to go with his triple-double in 2000.
This feat would be a stretch for Porzingis on any level. During his rookie season in 2015-16, the Latvian big man averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 assists per-game. He did have seven blocks in one game last season, but Joakim Noah figures to be the major presence inside for the Knicks.
Even looking into the crystal ball of per-100 possession and per-36 minute statistics, Porzingis doesn’t have any additional way it would be plausible to juice his numbers enough to expect he could break the 22-year league drought. New York’s offense just isn’t built around those kind of passing numbers for their big men, and although he’s shown some promise, Porzingis isn’t that kind of rim defender.
Still, kudos to KP for knowing his trivia. Only four times in NBA history has anyone recorded a quadruple-double: David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Alvin Robertson and Nate Thurmond.
Jonesing to grab a historic record like that is perhaps nothing more than Porzingis saying in a roundabout way that he wants to be a better passer and a better shot blocker. I’d be more than OK with that as the 21-year-old is a bright spot for a mediocre team in New York.
