"M-V-P. M-V-P." The New York Knicks fans have been chanting these past few games. The 2017-18 NBA season has just started three weeks ago and yet Kristaps Porzingis is already an early favorite to contend for the highest individual award in the league.

If there’s one thing Phil Jackson has done good for the New York Knicks, it is bringing Kristaps Porzingis on board. The decision to pick the then unknown 7’3” Latvian during the 2015 NBA Draft was met with boos. Yet now even his opponents are in awe of what he came to do on the basketball court.

Take it from Phoenix Suns, Tyson Chandler, who has devoted his entire playing career to stopping opposing teams from scoring.

The former Knick believes that Kristaps “is special,” going as far as saying that, “he has the chance to be the best player in this league.” Yes, Chandler is talking about “this league” – the NBA – and not only in Europe.

All-around performance

When Carmelo Anthony was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, it was clear that Kristaps Porzingis will be the cornerstone for rebuilding New York Knicks. And he delivered six 30+ point performances, averaging 29.0 points and 1.8 blocks per game. In the last four games, he scored over 30 points and blocked a total of 11 shots.

“I’m getting better as a player,” Kristaps said as posted by Al Iannazzone of Newsday. “I can feel that. I’m growing as a player and I think that’s helping the team.” Well, action speaks louder than words, so just watch this video:

The New York Knicks have won four of the five games in which they scored over 100 points.

Kristaps scored 33 points in that single loss against the Detroit Pistons that was decided during the dying minutes of the game. Enes Kanter said, “It’s just going to get better and better and better.” And it did, with the Knicks piling up four wins in their last five games.

During their last game against the Phoenix Suns, Kristaps could have easily surpassed his recently set career-high 38 points he collected against the Denver Nuggets.

However, with the New York Knicks up by 16 points with a little over two minutes left in the game, Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek decided it’s time for his ace player to enjoy the game from the sideline.

The New York Knicks fans are hungry for another NBA playoff appearance after four short, unfruitful seasons. And with the MVP-like performance of Kristaps Porzingis, it's not impossible.

Diffusing controversy

Right before the game against the Phoenix Suns, Kristaps reassured the New York Knicks fans, saying, “I see myself as a Knick for a long, long time.” This was in response to some rumors created by the remarks of his brother, Janis, whom Kristaps said were “taken out of context.”

“I thought the article and everything [was] taken out of context, a big part,” Kristaps remarked as posted on Newsday. He noted that the entire interview his brother made was longer and that the supposed remarks were but a few things chosen to highlight the conversation.

Kristaps hopes to end the controversy with his statement since the Knicks superstar said he wanted “to focus on playing basketball, being who I am and not bringing all that stuff from last year or just drama in general into this.” This is actually a good sign that Kristaps has already moved past all the dramas from the offseason.

But this doesn’t mean he may not become an unrestricted free agent someday.

According to Al Lannazzone, the New York Knicks can pick up their team option next summer and offer Kristaps a five-year extension which could easily go over $150 million. Should they fail to come into agreement, there’s a chance the Knicks could lose Kristaps in the free agency in 2020.
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