Thursday, June 25, 2015 may live on as the day the tide turned for the New York Knicks. Team president Phil Jackson made two decisions at the 2015 NBA Draft that weren’t warmly received, but could define the resurgence of a once glorious organization.
After No. 4 overall selection Kristaps Porzingis emerged as a rising star in 2015-16, No. 35 overall selection Willy Hernangomez is taking his turn in 2016-17.
Hernangomez and Porzingis were teammates in Spain’s Liga ACB with Baloncesto Sevilla. Though both players deserved to be drafted into the NBA, there was a misconception that Jackson only took Hernangomez to appease Porzingis.