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Kristaps Porzingis keeps setting career-highs; what does it mean?

By Chase Hughes

Porzingis keeps setting career-highs originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

In each of his last two games, Kristaps Porzingis has done something he’s never done before in his distinguished NBA career.

In Monday’s win over the Timberwolves, he scored a career-high 41 points, including 29 points by halftime, the most he’s ever had in a single half. He followed that up with a career-high 19 rebounds on Wednesday against the Nets, albeit in a loss, but to complement 27 points on an efficient 8-for-14 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three (…and 9-of-14 on free throws).

Through 21 games, Porzingis is now averaging 21.6 points, second-most in his career; that’s with a career-high 60.1 true shooting percentage, which accounts for threes (he’s shooting 38.2%) and free throws (79.5%). Not only has Porzingis stayed healthy through the first quarter of the Wizards’ season, but he’s also given them possibly the best basketball of his career.

While the Wizards are still searching for consistency as a team, now with a .500 record at 11-11, things are going extraordinarily well for Porzingis individually. Given what he represents in terms of his talent, his contract and his future, all of this presents some interesting dynamics in the short- and long-term.

In the interim, it means the Wizards have a chance to be a pretty good team. Most probably would have pointed to his health as one of the biggest X-factors for how the Wizards would perform this season. It remains very early to declare victory in that regard, but so far so good and he’s proving how effective he can be when he’s on the floor.

While Porzingis is playing like this, it presents the question of how the Wizards can better utilize his production. Is there a scenario where he should be featured even more in their offense? While the Wizards have achieved remarkable balance with the shot attempts between Porzingis (15.3/g), Bradley Beal (17.1/g) and Kyle Kuzma (17.0/g), Porzingis is third on that list. To be fair, he does have the highest usage percentage (26.8).

The reasons why the Wizards have had trouble taking off on an extended stretch of wins arguably have little to do with the performance of their top-three scorers. It has been more about a lack of depth, in part due to injuries, and their inconsistent shooting and defense. But perhaps there are ways to capitalize on Porzingis playing like a legitimate star at the moment.

In the bigger picture, Porzingis’ play so far is interesting to analyze. For one, the Wizards’ trade to acquire him from the Mavericks is taking on new context.

Remember, the Wizards traded Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans to get him. Dinwiddie has been very good this year, averaging 17.0 points while shooting 40.0% and appearing in all 20 of Dallas’ games. Bertans, meanwhile, has played in only six games because of a knee injury.

If Dinwiddie keeps it up and Bertans makes his threes, the Mavs could be in good shape because of the depth they provide. But Dallas originally traded for Porzingis hoping to put another star next to Luka Doncic and right now he’s playing like one.

Now Porzingis is in Washington and thriving, and if he keeps it up, his contract future could become more of a question mark. The Wizards have him signed through next season at $36 million, though on a player option. While that’s a lot of money, he could play his way into a situation where it’s possible to earn a lucrative long-term deal this offseason.

Porzingis’ contract option doesn’t seem like quite the certainty to be declined that Kuzma’s is, as he’s due to make $13 million next year and is also having a career season. But the more Porzingis plays, the more he will create options for himself.

The fact that both Porzingis and Kuzma are having the seasons they are, plus Beal is shooting much more efficiently than he has in recent years, makes the Wizards’ record seem in some ways not indicative of their overall upside. On one hand, you could argue they have underachieved given their top-three players have performed so well, at least statistically.

The flip side of that would be that there is potential for them to be a very good team and to win at a higher frequency than they have so far. To put it all together and go on a serious run, they will have to fill in the gaps that have plagued them so far. Perimeter defense and bench scoring would be two areas, for instance, that could stand to improve.

But the core pieces seem to be there for them to build around with Porzingis representing maybe the most positive development of the Wizards’ season so far.

Ian Mahinmi on his involvement with NBA Africa, time with Wizards

By Chase Hughes
Ian Mahinmi on NBA Africa, his time with Wizards originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonFew NBA careers have ended under more unusual circumstances than Ian Mahinmi's. His last game was on Feb. 2020 and weeks later the entire league shut down due to the coronavirus. He did not play in the NBA's playoff bubble that summer. When he laced them up for his last professional game, there wasn't an inkling it would be his ride off into the sunset.After the Wizards' time in the bubble came to a close, as did the four-year contract he signed to join them in free agency in 2016, it left him at a crossroads with a 12-year NBA career in the books and his whole life ahead of him.It was shortly thereafter that Mahinmi was approached with an investment opportunity in NBA Africa. Mahinmi joined as a minority owner, attaching his name to a group that includes strategic partners and investors like former President Barack Obama, actor Forest Whitaker and former NBA players Dikembe Mutombo, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng.Mahinmi, who has roots in the West African country of Benin, has since been directly involved in the sport's expansion across the continent. That includes an appearance at the tip-off of the Basketball Africa League's (BAL) third season this week in Senegal."This is definitely, for me, the next chapter. I feel like everything I've done has led me to this," Mahinmi told NBC Sports Washington during a phone conversation from Dakar.The BAL features 12 teams from 12 different countries split between two conferences, the Nile and Sahara. The teams include players with G-League and Division 1 college basketball experience. They play 38 games over three months in Dakar (Senegal), Cairo (Egypt) and Kigali (Rwanda).The games are available to watch in all 54 African countries and 214 countries in total across the world. There are also 45 games from this NBA season being broadcast in primetime throughout the continent on various platforms.NBA Africa, which is headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa and has additional offices in Senegal, Nigeria and Egypt, also has other initiatives to drive interest in the sport among African youth. Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. participated in a Basketball Without Borders camp in Egypt last summer."At the grassroot level, the game is popular now. The game is being played," Mahinmi said. "And obviously, as you know, basketball is not only the game. It's the whole lifestyle. The game goes with the music, the music goes with the swag, the clothes, the shoes, the sneakers."Mahinmi, who grew up in France, believes the full potential of basketball in Africa has barely been realized. That is despite multiple Hall of Famers hailing from the continent including Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon. Joel Embiid, who is from Cameroon, is a favorite to win this year's NBA MVP award.Soccer remains the No. 1 sport across Africa, but Mahinmi believes basketball is well on its way to the mainstream."It's been like a whole ecosystem awakening. For me to be a part of that, it's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time," he said. "This BAL league has changed the whole landscape of how basketball is viewed on the basketball continent."Mahinmi has drawn a sense of gratitude from his involvement with NBA Africa, as he continues to transition away from his professional basketball career. It's a revitalizing new venture for him after an admittedly disappointing tenure in Washington.Mahinmi's four-year, $64 million deal did not work out for the Wizards. He appeared in only 180 games and struggled to provide the impact they signed him for.Mahinmi points to injuries as a major reason for his performance and suggests they were worse than initially reported."My time with the Wizards was very challenging... My first steps as a Wizard, I injured myself. I injured myself in training camp and this was like such a tough start. I felt like from that injury, it was like a ripple effect," he said."That year we had such a good team. I believe we had aspirations of going far. I hurt myself, took a while to come back, then came back and I hurt myself again. I obviously wasn't healed all the way, trying to come back quickly for the playoffs. I hurt myself again, the same injury. I tore my meniscus twice in my first year. We don't talk about it a lot, but that trauma of tearing my meniscus twice took me a while to get back to myself. I didn't feel comfortable until maybe a year-and-a-half after. But a year-and-a-half after, a lot had changed in the Wizards organization. It was tough, it was tough for me. I felt like I gave it my all, but it was just like physically I wasn't at my best."Mahinmi said the Wizards not reaching their potential during those years remains a "regret," though he is happy he was able to play better during the 2019-20 season and end his career on a personal high note.Mahinmi is now out of the NBA, but still in basketball. And with NBA Africa's initiatives, he has a chance to impact the game for many years to come.
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