When the New York Knicks tabbed Kristaps Porzingis with the fourth pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, fans booed the 7-3 Latvian power forward without mercy, calling for team president Phil Jackson's head in the process.
But it didn't take long for the 20-year-old rookie to win over Knicks fans — not to mention, NBA fans, period — with his skilled inside-outside game, which seems to have an incredibly-high ceiling of potential.
That being said, not only has Porzingis helped save the Knicks franchise from further going under ... but the young power forward also helped save the organization from being a punchline on The Simpsons on Sunday night.
One of the famed show's writers, Michael Price, took to his Twitter account Sunday to reveal that a joke about the hapless Philadelphia 76ers was originally intended for the Knicks, but that Porzingis's early brilliance thus far this season helped them to dodge that bullet.
That hat joke was originally about the Knicks. You New Yorkers have Kristaps Porzingis to thank for it being changed to the Sixers.
— Michael Price (@mikepriceinla) January 18, 2016
During a sequence in the episode, beloved Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu — voice by Hank Azaria — sells a bald customer sunblock and their exchanges goes as follows:
"One tube of sunblock. That will be $30," Apu says.
"Once again, keeping the bald man down," the man retorts.
Apu replies: "I do have a Philadelphia 76ers hat that you could wear for free."
Frightened, the man responds: I'll pay! I'll pay!"
Ironically, the Knicks (21-22) needed double overtime to hold off and defeat the Sixers (5-38), 119-113, during their traditional Martin Luther King, Jr. Day matinee home game at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Porzingis scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked three shots in the game.
Watch The Simpsons' hilarious roasting of the Sixers here.
The Simpsons poke fun at @Sixers We're getting better though pic.twitter.com/qS8GtRGB0N
— STEVEN J COLEMAN (@STEVENJ511) January 18, 2016
