Ģirts Kalniņš

Kristaps Porzingis stepped away from basketball today, and years before this he was paying $500 of his own money for every shot he blocked and sending it to a school fund in Harlem. He was 21 years old. It was his second season with the Knicks. He stood up at the Fred Samuel Center in Harlem in November of 2016 and said he would give $500 to a youth basketball program called the New York RENS for every shot he blocked that season. "As you know, I love doing stuff for the community," he said. "I think this will be one of the biggest things I've done so far, donating $500 for every shot that I block." "I'm going to block all the shots that I can." They called it KrisStops. A New York real estate developer named Keith Rubenstein, who had held Knicks season tickets for years, heard about it and matched him. Every block was worth $1,000. The money went to the program's Ben Jobe Educational Fund. It paid tuition at Catholic schools, private schools and prep schools. It covered tutoring and SAT prep for families who could not pay for it themselves. "This is very big for the program, very big, especially for the youth," said Craig Keys, who coached the third and fourth graders there. Five weeks in, Porzingis had blocked 43 shots. The campaign had raised $43,000. "With this whole thing I want to show what type of player I am on the court and person I am off it," he said. "This is my home now and hopefully for many, many years, and this is only the beginning." He was not from New York. He grew up in Liepaja, a port city on the coast of Latvia. His father drove a bus. His mother taught school. In June of 2016, one year into his NBA career, he went home and gave the city a basketball court. Outdoor, floodlit, built to NBA dimensions, free for anyone who wanted it. About 300 people stood in the rain to watch it open. He apologized for having to read his speech off his phone. His mother spoke that day about who would look after it. "My former students will always be here, who promised to look after the court." He gave Liepaja a second court in 2017 and a third in 2019. His older brother Martins ran the builds. Today he said his body did not respond the way he anticipated. "I'm doing good, but I know what it takes, and I'm not where I want to be to perform at the level I expect of myself." He has not called it a retirement. All three courts in Liepaja are still standing. The city lists them on its own tourism page, with the addresses, so anyone can find them. They are free.