Growing Up ... Kevin Porter Jr.
Cavs High-Flying Swingman Reflects on His Early Days in Seattle
by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
2/8/20 | Cavs.com
The problem with doing a “Growing Up … “ feature on some of the Wine & Gold’s younger players is that they’re still in the process of doing so.
Kevin Porter Jr., the Cavaliers electric young shooting guard doesn’t turn 20 years old until May 4. At an age when most kids his age are eating Ramen Noodles and cramming for exams, the man known as “KPJ” is carving out his way among the tall trees of the NBA – and his ascension as a rookie has already been something special.
Considered by many to be the steal of this past June’s draft, Porter grew up in Seattle – and he was forced to grow up fast.
When he was just four years old, his father was shot and killed trying to break up a fight. He’s been the man of the house from that point forward. The younger Porter paid homage to his father on Draft night with a jacket lined with photos of his dad and he’s carried his legacy into the Association every day since.
Already a fan-favorite halfway through his rookie campaign with Cleveland, Porter – who’s been outstanding since his return from a nine-game absence – is known for his off-the-charts athleticism, smooth lefty shooting stroke and an easygoing, sometimes goofy personality around his teammates.
In today’s installment of Growing Up …, we take a look back into the young shooting guard’s recent past – coming up in the Pacific Northwest with a support network of former NBA players and eventually taking his family’s name to the next level …
Halfway through his rookie year, Kevin Porter Jr. has already established himself as a Cleveland fan favorite.
Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images
My whole family – except my mom … we’re all into sports.
My sisters … play basketball at Franklin High School in Seattle. My little brother, he plays football, basketball and he ran track.
We wanted to get my younger brother … into sports early because, me, I just grew up playing football and basketball, then track came when I got to high school. We wanted to see what he liked, if he was in the sports – which he is.
He’s just 11, eight years younger … than me. So, he's got some time. I'll get him right. He's going to be better than me. He started dribbling the basketball years before I was able to. He just fell in love with being an athlete at a very young age. He just loves sports and all he does is play games -- basketball games, football games -- all day, every day. He likes to compete.
Actually, football was … my first love when I was younger. I was already pretty fast and elusive -- little jukes and everything. I loved like just mixing people and scoring touchdowns. Basketball actually came later for me.
I started out as … a running back, but when I got closer to high school -- around middle school -- I moved to wide receiver. I got too tall to be a running back.
So I really loved … football – and I had picked that sport to try to go all the way with. But my family thought that I was better at basketball, so that's what I did.
At Rainier Beach High School … my dad was a big-time three-sport athlete.
My dad played … baseball. He was unbelievable at baseball, and that was his main sport. He was very good at basketball and really good at football. But baseball was his bread and butter the way basketball is for me. He was incredible.
It was just unfortunate … that I had to grow up without him. There was a lot of pressure. You know, I'm a I'm a 'junior' -- I have the same name as him -- so I had some big shoes I had to fill. And that was both his legacy in sports and then being the man of the house to my family. So, there was definitely a lot of pressure growing up, and there still is.
I feel like I’ve been doing a good job … of carrying on his legacy and carrying on mine along with that. It was definitely tough growing up without him, but I probably wouldn't be where I'm at if I wouldn't have gone the route that I went and grew up how I grew up.
My dad is … with me every step of the way. He's been with me every step of the way. And I know that.
My mom always says … that he's living through me. At times, when she sees me doing something that's kind of like a replica of him, you can see it on her face. She just smiles.
I’m honored … to have to have his name to share and to be able to carry his legacy they way I am right now. Because if it wasn't for basketball, I don't know what I'd do. I was blessed with a gift and I just want to fulfill it as well as I can.
My mom is my biggest fan …. my biggest supporter, my biggest love. But she doesn't know nothing about sports!
She doesn’t know … the rules or anything. She only knows the basics: Put the ball in the hole and get stops.
But when she sees … her little baby out there hooping, it makes her proud. She's always up there in the stands cheering. It's great!
I guess I first thought I could … take things to the next level in around seventh grade.
"I’m honored to have to have (my father's) name to share and to be able to carry his legacy they way I am right now. Because if it wasn't for basketball, I don't know what I'd do. I was blessed with a gift and I just want to fulfill it as well as I can."
Cavaliers guard Kevin Porter Jr.
I was always on a local team … and we never really had national exposure at a young age. But I had a lot of people around me -- alumni that were either from Seattle or went to high school in Seattle, including some guys that were in the NBA at the time. And when they'd see me play, they'd be like: ‘Man, you can do something special. You can really make it.’ Things like that.
Then I started to hear that … more and more as I got older. But really, once I heard it the first time, that's really when I chopped down and started really putting the hours in – training, working, getting up at 5:00 in the morning – things like that to get a head start of things. And once I got to high school, I just took off from there.
There’s a lot of big-time alumni … from either Rainier Beach or Garfield. Those are the two teams that were the dogs of the Metro League in Seattle.
We had guys like … Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson, Doug Christie. At Garfield, you had guys like Brandon Roy, Will Conroy. There's just a lot of guys that came out of that area. Aaron Brooks, Martell Webster. Zach LaVine, Isaiah Thomas. We're all from that Seattle-Tacoma area. There's a lot of talent up there.
Jamal Crawford was … actually one of those people that told me I could be special when I was in, I believe, eighth grade.
That was before I decided … to go to Rainier Beach. I used to go up to Rainier Vista, and they would have nice little runs up there. And from there, he'd seen me play, seen me go up and down. So, every time I'd see him, he'd give me advice. He was like my big brother. He is my big brother.
I was really fortunate … to have him in my corner, because he was a very successful NBA player. He's part of league history -- he won Sixth Man three times, he played for a lot of very successful teams. He knew a lot about the game, and he gave me so much advice and knowledge. And when I got to high school, I started to understand the game better and that's when he really put a lot of knowledge and wisdom into me.
Before I got to high school … I’d tried my very first dunk.
It was after practice … where everybody was at the gym.
I used to try … to dunk, like, all the time. And then there was a phase where I wasn't trying anymore. I got sick and tired of missing!
But this one time … I was just feeling good and everybody was dunking. And that's when Jamal Crawford got his first signature shoe, and I had those on. So, I was feeling good, you know!
I went up there … and I tried it. It was a little rim-grazer, but I got my first dunk in front of everybody and the whole gym went wild. So that was fun.
But my favorite … in-game dunk was against a very good team out there -- Seattle Prep. I believe they were one of the top four teams at the time.
It was my freshman year … and it was actually at the beginning of the game and, man, I caught a body! It was a poster! It was one of my bros, a buddy I used to play with at A-Plus.
When I dunked it … I flexed on him and everything! I had to flex -- show some emotion and my personality!
That was my very first … in-game dunk – and it’s still one of my all-time favorites.