Former Teammate Happy To See Kristaps Porzingis Excel With Celtics

Kristaps Porzingis spent less than two seasons with the Washington Wizards before he was traded to the Boston Celtics, but the veteran big man clearly had an impact on others.

“KP, man, he’s such a great dude,” Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma told reporters after Porzingis and the Green earned a 126-107 victory at Capital One Arena, per Celtics reporter Taylor Snow. “He made a huge impact here, he was a great locker room guy. Everybody loved him.”

Porzingis finished with 15 points on 7-for-9 from the field with six rebounds. The 28-year-old also was a notable plus-30 in his 24 minutes. Porzingis is averaging 20.7 points in 30 minutes per game through three contests but believes he’ll be even better as the season rolls on.

Kuzma is among those happy to see Porzingis producing for a title contender.

“I’m happy for him. He has a chance to really do something that he wants to do in his career,” Kuzma told reporters. “He’s never really had that opportunity to play on a contending type of team. And he fits in seamlessly over there, not really having to do too much — blocking a few shots, hit a few threes. He just looks like he’s having a lot of fun so I’m happy for him.”

With the Green having started the campaign with three straight wins, there’s an argument to be made that Porzingis might be the Celtics’ most important player.