Kevin Porter Jr.
May 04, 2000
Bryan Kevin Porter Jr. (born May 4, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League, on assignment from the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played high school basketball for Rainier Beach High School and led the Vikings to the state playoffs in each of his four years. He played college basketball for the USC Trojans.
July 2004
Porter was born in Seattle, Washington to Ayanna and Bryan Kevin Porter Sr. His father played football, basketball, and baseball at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle in the 1990s. In July 2004, when Kevin Jr. was four years old, his father was shot five times and killed while trying to help someone being attacked. As a result, he was raised by his mother, who became his role model. Porter played sports to both pay homage to his late father and recover from the loss of him.
2008
Porter was considered a five-star recruit by recruiting services 247Sports and Rivals and a four-star recruit by ESPN. He was the top-ranked player from Washington in the 2018 class and received offers from several NCAA Division I programs, including UCLA, Oregon, and Washington, before committing to USC. Porter became the first USC player since DeMar DeRozan in 2008 to be rated a five-star recruit by Rivals.
March 03, 2018
Porter convinced his mother to enroll him at Rainier Beach High School instead of O'Dea High School in Seattle, because his father had played sports there and he wanted to preserve the tradition. In his senior campaign, he averaged 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists, as Rainier Beach finished with a 22–7 record. On March 3, 2018, Porter recorded 22 points and 11 rebounds in a Class 3A state championship game loss to Garfield High School. At the end of the season, he was named Washington Mr. Basketball by the state coaches association.
November 06, 2018
Porter debuted for USC on November 6, 2018, scoring 15 points off the bench on 6-of-7 shooting in an 83–62 win over Robert Morris. On November 20, against Missouri State, he suffered a quadriceps contusion. He returned on December 1 versus Nevada but left after 4 minutes because he was hindered by the injury. He missed nine games with a quad contusion, and returned again on January 10, 2019, scoring 5 points in 25 minutes. Three days later, however, he was suspended indefinitely by USC for "personal conduct issues." Regardless, Porter stated that he would finish the season with the team and then played in the last three games of the season. He averaged 9.8 points, four rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 22 minutes a game, playing in 21 of USC's 33 games.
July 03, 2019
In the 2019 NBA draft, Porter was selected 30th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, but was later traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers via the Detroit Pistons. On July 3, 2019, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that they had signed Porter. On October 23, 2019, Porter made his debut in the NBA, playing in a 85–94 loss to the Orlando Magic and finishing with 1 rebound, two assists and a steal. His first NBA start for the Cavaliers would come on November 19, 2019, against the New York Knicks in a 123–105 loss where he recorded a then career high 18 points in 31 minutes. Later on February 25, 2020, Porter would record a new career high of 30 points, adding 3 assists, 8 rebounds and 3 steals in a 125–119 OT comeback win against the Miami Heat.
November 15, 2020
On November 15, 2020, Porter Jr. was charged by Mahoning County police following a single car accident for improper handling of a firearm in a vehicle. In a statement the Cleveland Cavaliers stated, "We are aware of the situation involving Kevin Porter Jr. and are in the process of gathering information. We have spoken with Kevin and will continue to address this privately with him as the related process evolves."
January 21, 2021
On January 21, 2021, Porter Jr. was traded to the Houston Rockets for a future protected second round pick. He was later assigned to the Rockets' G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, debuting for the Vipers in their season opener on February 10, 2021. On February 25 he recorded the first triple-double of the G League season, scoring 27 points, collecting 11 rebounds and dishing out 14 assists.
