Pablo Prigioni, the 35-year-old Argentine rookie from the New York Knicks, was "spectacular on both ends of the court", said teammate and 2013 scoring champion Carmelo Anthony after the Knicks crushed the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of their playoff series. According to the New York Times, Anthony added, "He controlled the game, controlled the ball, and on the defensive end, he pressured the ball." Prigioni, who began his professional career with Ramallo of the Argentine LNB League during the 1995-1996 season, is the oldest rookie in NBA history.
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In Game 2 of the Knicks' series with the Pacers on Tuesday night, Prigioni played all but the last few minutes during a night which the Argentine newspaper Clarin called "unforgettable". At the start of the fourth quarter, with the Knicks up six points, the point guard came off a pick-and-roll and hit a 3-pointer. On the next possession, he knocked down a floater in the lane, prompting a timeout from the Pacers and enthusiasm from the Knicks' crowd, who began to chant "PAB-LO! PAB-LO! PAB-LO!". After that, the Knicks raced to the finish, beating the Pacers 33-13 in the fourth quarter of their 105-79 win.
Asked by reporters after the game about the momentum swing, during which Prigioni also dished to Carmelo Anthony for a 3-pointer, blocked a 3-point attempt by Pacers forward Paul George, and tossed an alley-oop to Tyson Chandler for a dunk, the Argentine guard seemed excited.
"Yeah, I think that maybe was the key moment," he said. "We started to play good on offense. We get stops, we run and everything started to be on our side."
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Prigioni rarely stays in the game for important fourth-quarter moments, but Tuesday night was an exception. "I love that," he said. "I love to be on the court in the important moments because I used to do this in the last 10, 15 years. But I understand here, I have great players on the team, great teammates, so much experience in the NBA playoffs, so I try to give all my energy in the minutes that the coach thinks I must be on the court.
Pablo Prigioni, born in Río Tercero, Córdoba, began playing in Spain in 1999, once serving as backup point guard to Jose Calderon before Calderon left to join the Toronto Raptors for the 2006 season. That year, Prigioni stepped into the spotlight for the Spanish club Tau Vitoria, for whom he led the Euroleague and ACB league in assists. He was named the Spanish King's Cup MVP in 2006 as well as second-team all-Euroleague the following two years, according to Grantland. Prigioni was also part of the Argentine national team in the London Olympics, when Argentina came in fourth.
His Twitter page describes him as a family man, husband and wife of two kids. He will reportedly make $473,604 this year as a member of the Knicks.
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