Lakers Draft: How Porzingis Compares to Other European Bigs

Andrei Kirelenko

Kirelenko immediately sticks out from this list because of his defense. Back in his prime, Kirelenko was one of the best defensive players in the NBA, even making a few appearances on the NBA All-Defensive Team. He was able to guard virtually every position on the floor, having the ability to maximize his quickness and wingspan. Kirelenko wasn’t especially strong, but fought for position and was hard to drive by and score one on one. On offense, Kirelenko was largely a spot up shooter who also got shots coming from offensive rebounds, fast breaks, and cuts. The only noticeable issue with Kirelenko was that he was an extremely streaky shooter and was very turnover prone, two areas Porzingis may be better in.

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