LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 26: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives against Bobby Portis #5 of the Washington Wizards during the second half at Staples Center on March 26, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
Bobby Portis has one goal in mind: win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.
“I want to be Sixth Man of the Year,” Bobby Portis told Regal Radio’s Josh Hicks in an interview over the weekend.
“That’s always been my goal. I set that goal last year and I’m going to achieve it this year. I’ve been working very hard on my game. Trying to maintain my offense game and expand it. This is going to be a great season for me.”
In stints with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, Portis averaged 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game; all career highs.
Portis’ ability to stretch the floor from positions 3 to 5 is vastly underrated. He shot a carer 36% from downtown and in fact, during his brief stint with the Wizards last season, he shot 40.3 percent from the 3-point line in only 28 games.
Portis has been active since signing with the Knicks. This summer, he was in Philadelphia participating in the Rumph Classic at Lasalle University.
Knicks got a steal in Bobby Portis!
Caught up with him tonight in Philadelphiavat the Danny Rumph Classic.
Wait til you hear what he told me about NYC and the Knicks.
Worth noting: Toronto Raptors NBA Champion Kyle Lowry and the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum were either in attendance or participating at the Rumph Classic.
In an offseason where many had hoped that a Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant pairing would happening in Manhattan instead of in Brooklyn, the Knicks salvaged their roster and cap space by adding Portis and other key pieces.
“[New York] is different but life is all about making adjustments,” Portis told Josh Hicks.
“I’ve been doing that my whole life making adjustments from team to team. I’m happy with the situation that I’m in. We have a team full of guys that are hard workers and are hungry. I think this is going to be a good season for us this season.“
Portis has a lane to be successful in the Big Apple. His running start began last season.
He likes what he sees in NYC with the orange and blue.
“I’m very excited,” Portis told me this summer.
“Just have to get up here and get started.”
Portis has become a health-food fanatic and workout demon He has a cheat code.
According to the New York Post, he also has a stake in a healthy-snack company and is known for his 12-hour workdays in June and July when many NBA players are taking it easy.
That mindset began since he was drafted in 2015. Right after being drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 2015, I asked him what he knew about popular Chicago restaurant, Harold’s Chicken Shack.
He knew about it.
He just can’t eat it.
The New York Knicks beging training camp later this month. Portis tells me that he’s developed a strong bond with Knicks head coach, David Fizdale. “Since my interview process, he’ll text me everyday,” he told me.
“He’s a fierce coach, one of the best vocal coaches there is.”
Portis also tell me that he respects Allonzo Trier’s story of going undrafted and making an NBA roster. “I like his working mentality, ” he said of Trier.
“He came in working. He put the work in, the hard work. That’s really all you can ask for. But a guy like Alonzo Trier hasn’t reached his peak yet, he’s undrafted so he has a lot to prove.”
Portis commends the Knicks’ roster upgrades this summer too. With the third overall pick in June, the Knicks selected RJ Barrett from Duke.The former Blue Devil, averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game last season.
“I love his competitive edge and his upside,” Bobby Portis told me of Barrett.
“He’s going to be a great player in the league. It’s about the experience he’s just going to go out there and leave it on the line.”