Kristaps Porzingis talks BODYARMOR sports drink and Kobe Bryant

New York Knicks All-Star Kristaps Porzingis may still be recovering from injury, but he still made time to talk about his new sports drink and Kobe Bryant.

As the 2018 NBA Playoffs remain in full swing, New York Knicks All-Star forward Kristaps Porzingis is keeping busy by appearing in commercials for BODYARMOR Sports Drink. Porzingis is no stranger to appearing in commercials in his young career, but has been a supporter of the brand for several years investing in its development. 

BODYARMOR Sports Drink teamed up with Los Angeles Lakers legend and company shareholder, Kobe Bryant, for a slate of innovative advertisements. The campaign was created by Bryant, who co-directed and wrote all the television commercials. The first batch of commercials were released this week premiering during playoff coverage breaks, and include Porzingis attempting to use a carrier pigeon to update his family in Latvia on his recent ACL injury. 

In addition to Prorzingis, the campaign features MVP candidate and Houston Rockets guard James Harden, Major League Baseball’s Mike Trout and WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith.

Bryant recently gained heavy acclaim for his Academy Award-winning short film, “Dear Basketball,” and is continuing to evolve away from the game of basketball. It already seems as if he’s taken 22-year-old Porzingis under his wing, featuring him front and center in the comedic advertisements.

I had the opportunity to speak with Porzingis about the new sports energy drink, working with Kobe Bryant and his favorite pigeon on set.

• What influenced you to endorse BODYARMOR over other sports energy drinks?

"“Well, I’ve been with BODYARMOR Sports Drink for a couple of years now and I love it. The product sold me at first – it’s authentic, has natural ingredients and it tastes great and it really helps me stay hydrated. We connected early on in my career and it just clicked from the beginning. It’s been a great experience so far, there’s a lot of momentum right now and I’m excited to see the BODYARMOR brand grow from here.”"

• What was it like working under Kobe Bryant’s direction in the commercial?

"“Working with Kobe was a great experience. He actually called me personally right after my ACL injury and talked to me about his idea for the BODYARMOR campaign and how we could make it work, even with my injury. I thought it was kind of genius from the start, and it was exciting for me to be such a big part of it. In general, it’s awesome to have Kobe as an investor in BODYARMOR because we get the chance to talk about both basketball and business.”"

• How many takes would you say it took to get your commercial costar (pigeon) to cooperate? 

"“At first, it was a little tough picking up the pigeons. But after working with the pigeon master on set, I actually felt more comfortable with them and felt like I mastered the pigeon craft by the end of the shoot. I would say we probably had a total of 15-20 total takes, maybe more. I did have a favorite pigeon though and named him Phil.”"

The commercials end with the tag line: “Thanks Gatorade. We’ll take it from here” to further push the competition factor.

Next: Full two-round 2018 NBA Mock Draft

Porzingis is showing his love for competing without touching the court, but many Knicks fans are hoping his return to the hardwood brings even more energy to the city that never sleeps.