Derek Fisher in just his second season as Knicks head coach was fired on February 8, 2016, and assistant coach Kurt Rambis took over for the rest of the season.
With their sole selection in the 2015 NBA draft, the New York Knicks selected the originally labelled 7'1" (later revealed to actually be 7'3") power forward/center from Latvia named Kristaps Porziņģis.
At the time of his selection, the crowd supporting the team had greeted him with boos and jeers against him, with Stephen A. Smith originally expressing doubts and concerns with this selection.
However, months after his selection, Porziņģis became an immediate star player for the Knicks, growing a huge crowd of support for himself the further the season went on, with even Stephen A. Smith changing his original stance on his later on in the season.
Porziņģis would end the season with winning each Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month Award, as well as earning easy support for an NBA All-Rookie First Team spot.