NBA

Phil Jackson breaks silence to explain Kristaps Porzingis ‘magic’

It’s magic!

Knicks president Phil Jackson broke his silence on rookie Kristaps Porzingis and cited the hard-working qualities and “magical element’’ to Porzingis’ game that has enabled him to get off to a blistering start.

Jackson got heat for taking Porzingis with the No. 4 pick in the draft, but the 7-foot-3 Latvian has made the Zen Master look like a genius. Jackson was appearing with his former Lakers player Rick Fox on Sirius XM radio Wednesday to discuss Kobe Bryant’s retirement. Jackson had not spoken publicly since three days before training camp.

“There’s a magical element to this young man that’s caught the admiration of the fan base and around the country who follow the Knicks,’’ Jackson said. “He’s got the right temperament, right attitude, carries himself well. He’s not getting the calls, [but] he doesn’t protest or get upset.

“He has a very calm, balanced nature about his game,’’ Jackson added. “It’s a learning process. You see the growth game to game. That’s really the ticket you look at. You watch a young player developing, learning, how he’s learning to deal with the physical nature of the game, speed of our game. The other day [the media] made a big thing of [Dwight] Howard dunking over the top of him. It’s ridiculous. Everyone gets dunked on in the NBA. He laughed it off. He’s a lightning rod to our fan corps. You can’t hide him. He stands out in the crowd.’’

When Jackson last spoke before camp, he estimated Porzingis would play about 20 minutes per game. Derek Fisher has been able to exceed that, and Porzingis is now averaging 27 minutes, putting up 13.6 points and 9.4 rebounds.

“I will say this coaching staff thought they’d have to really monitor his minutes,’’ Jackson said. “They saw strength-wise [he would play] half a game, 24 minutes a game. That part we’ve been pleasantly surprised, the stamina and strength, the duration of time he’s in a ballgame and stayed out of foul trouble. Been very happy about that.’’

Jackson said he wouldn’t commend himself for the pick, which was blasted by Knicks fans who regarded the Latvian as a skinny European project who could take two seasons before making an impact.

“It’s not me, it’s all on him,’’ Jackson said. “This is the young man that’s done it. You sit in those spots [in the draft] and analyze what you can do and have control of. … We made a choice, a logical choice, and not having seen him but once in person, just in a shooting exhibition, I felt comfortable making the choice. I’m just happy the personality, drive and work ethic goes along with that talent level.’’