Porzingis: I welcome pressure of playing in New York

In June, before he was drafted, Kristaps Porzingis said he wanted to play for the New York Knicks. On the surface, the idea seemed like a match made in hell: An unproven European big man playing in front of the jaded fans and media of a once-flagship franchise that has a .318 winning percentage since 2009.

Porzingis has since let his game do the talking, and New York likes what it sees so far. While the Knicks still face some challenges, the 7-foot-3 Latvian looks like he belongs.

"The first day I got drafted, I felt the fans were really passionate about basketball and there was going to be a lot of pressure," Porzingis told Yahoo Sports' Michael Lee. "I knew that, but I wanted to be in New York because I love pressure. I knew we could do big things here in the future. If you can succeed in New York, you can succeed anywhere."

Related: How Kristaps Porzingis has taken New York by storm

The Gotham team's history with Euro bigs isn't illustrious. The last time the Knicks drafted a 7-footer from across the Atlantic was Frederic Weis in 1999. Two weeks after selecting Porzingis, the team parted ways with Andrea Bargnani, an acquisition that will cost them a first-round pick next June.

It's a stereotype Porzingis knew he had to erase before he hit the floor. "They need to see that I'm not just some skinny white guy, that I'm going to be there fighting," he said last summer.

Now in practice during the grind that is the NBA regular season, he's learning to pick his spots in regards to tuning out the noise.

"The fans will talk about whatever," Porzingis said. "But when you're not doing your best, you're losing, you can't let all that get to your head. You focus and try to play hard. The fans, they will respect you for that."