Kristaps Porzingis hasn't played a game yet for the Golden State Warriors, and he's already being mentioned alongside one of the most dominant young forces in basketball.
That's the comparison drawing double takes as the Warriors begin their playoff push. After Wednesday's loss to the Spurs, De'Anthony Melton didn't hold back when describing what the 7-foot-2 Latvian big man could bring to Golden State.
"Kristaps can do so much," Melton said. "He's a matchup nightmare for a lot of teams."
"You see, with the Spurs, you have Wemby, who's 7-‘a lot', and the stuff he can do and the matchup nightmares he brings to the table," Melton said. "So I think (Porzingis being) out there, it's just going to give us a lot of size and a lot of mismatches that we need. Some teams he's gonna kill just cause they can't physically match up with him."
That's high praise, especially considering who "Wemby" is.
Victor Wembanyama is coming off his second straight All-Star appearance in just his third NBA season and currently sits as the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year at -310 odds on FanDuel Sportsbooks. He redefined interior defense and perimeter versatility in real time. Comparing anyone to that archetype carries weight. And that's what makes the Porzingis projection so fascinating.
MORE: Warriors Frontcourt Headline NBA's Most Overrated Players List
The Fit Is Clear If He's Available
The Warriors acquired Kristaps Porzingis at the Feb. 5 trade deadline, sending Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to the Atlanta Hawks. He has yet to debut due to illness and continued recovery from left Achilles tendinitis and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), but the internal optimism is evident.
Head coach Steve Kerr outlined the potential offensive impact, highlighting his his versatile scoring ability can allow for a smooth integration into the Warriors’ offense.
"He's an easy fit; you don't have to change a whole lot," Kerr said. "I guess the biggest difference he provides is his post-ups; he's a pretty good post-up player, especially against switches. You throw him the ball at the foul line, the elbows, or even a low-block, and he can score in those spots."
Golden State's frontcourt rotation leaned heavily on floor spacing without dominant size. Porzingis changes that math immediately. He averages 17.1 points while shooting 36 percent from three this season, and during his championship run in Boston he hovered near 40 percent from deep. Now place that next to Stephen Curry.
Curry has never played next to a big man with an offensive profile similar to Porzingis. The closest he ever came to it was maybe his 30 games with Demarcus Cousins back in 2018. With a new and unique weapon added to fray, it’s not a surprise that Curry is enthusiastic to get on the floor with him and see how things work.
"I'm learning some Latvian," Curry told ESPN's Anthony Slater. "I'm just hoping that he's healthy, first and foremost, so that he can do what he can do on the floor. … There's a familiarity and skill set and size and presence that we've been looking for a while."
Curry's gravity creates clean looks. Porzingis height allows him to shoot over contests. On paper, it's seamless. Now it just needs to be put into practice.
MORE: Latest Rankings Reveal Harsh Truth About Lakers' Deandre Ayton Experience
Here's the tension: upside versus availability. Porzingis has played more than 60 games only once since 2016-17. He has shown flashes of elite two-way impact, but consistency has not followed. That's why the Wembanyama comparison feels both exciting and premature. Wembanyama is building dominance. Porziņgis is trying to reestablish reliability.
The Warriors sit 29-26 entering the stretch run. They don't need Porzingis to be Wembanyama. They need him healthy, spaced correctly, and impactful for 27 meaningful games. If he delivers even 80 percent of the "matchup nightmare" Melton described, Golden State's playoff ceiling rises fast.
If not, the comparison becomes just that, a headline, not a reality. Along with another year of Stephen Curry playing at an All-Star level wasted away.
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.