Mavericks: Kristaps Porzingis undervalued in SI top 100

The Dallas Mavericks acquired Kristaps Porzingis back in 2019 with dreams of him becoming their second star on a championship team, but things have not gone as planned. The Unicorn has struggled to stay healthy, and his production dipped in the 2021 playoffs. Dallas needs more from their second star if they want to contend for a title.

Porzingis is still a force on the court. Last season, he averaged 20.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on the best shooting efficiency of his career. KP’s defense slipped, but things could improve after a full year to his get his knee right.

Sports Illustrated began releasing their top 100 players for this season on Sept. 20 with numbers 100 to 51. KP featured on the list, and he was undervalued. Let us take a closer look.

Dallas Mavericks star Kristaps Porzingis undervalued in SI top 100

KP checked in at 58th in SI’s rankings. He slipped from 40th last year, despite improving his shooting efficiency. Sports Illustrated only released part of their list, but some of the names just ahead of Porzingis were surprising. KP averaged better numbers than Jerami Grant and De’Andre Hunter last year. Klay Thompson has not played in two years, so it is difficult to say where he will rank this season as well.

Kristaps Porzingis could easily play his way into the top 50 this season. New Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has plans of helping the Unicorn get back to his All-Star form. The 7’3 big man needs to improve his defense, stay healthy, and to his increase his shooting efficiency again if he wants to jump up the rankings. It will be interesting to see how his role and game change under J-Kidd.

Training camp begins on Sept. 28, and the Dallas Mavericks are gearing up for another fun and exciting season. Keep it locked to The Smoking Cuban for all the latest on the team this season, including rumors, news, opinions, and analysis.