SACRAMENTO—Jontay Porter never lost all his self-confidence, and those in his closest circle were continually and constantly supportive, but there was always nagging doubt in the recesses of his mind and it would never go away.
Maybe two major knee surgeries were two too many. Maybe the back woes were too much, and a wrist sprain was another untimely setback. And maybe more than a season in the basketball purgatory that is the G League would finally drive Porter out of the game he loved, and the greatest league in the world.
Sure, he listened to his heart and was strong-minded. And of course those who love him and supported him through whatever obstacles arose kept feeding him positive reinforcement, but still …
What was real?
“For so long, I believed I’ve been good enough, I’ve believed I was healthy enough. And then I wasn’t sure if anybody else believed in me or if they were just feeding me what I wanted to hear,” the Raptors forward said here Friday morning,
“My family was telling me I’m good enough. My agent was saying: 'You’re going to be there eventually.’ You hear that so much and nothing happens, eventually doubt starts to creep in, that’s inevitable.”
The doubts, realistically thinking, were legitimate.
The once-promising six-foot-11 forward, brother of Michael Porter Jr. of the Denver Nuggets, blew out the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in October 2018, a devastating injury to any basketball player.
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He suffered the same injury to the same surgically repaired knee in March 2019, and surely that would be the death knell to his career.
He dutifully went through the painful and meticulous rehab process, and looked like he just might make it back when the Memphis Grizzlies signed him in March 2020.
About three days later, COVID laid the NBA and most of the world to waste. That had to be it for Porter’s dream, right?
It was for the NBA hopes, it sure appeared. And as he bounced around the G League in 2022 and again at the start of this season with the Grand Rapids Drive, the 24-year-old had some career-altering thoughts.
“All the time (I wondered if I'd make it),” he said in an interview after the Raptors shootaround. “Even throughout last year, I was playing in the G League and thought I was playing pretty well (but) there wasn’t much interest. And this year I was playing well, I was even considering going overseas … I’m not sure I want to play basketball (but) I want to have a chance to make money and to provide for my family.
“I was wondering if that was going to be domestic or if I needed to go overseas. Turns out it wasn’t domestic in the United States. I had to take a trip over to Canada (but) that’s a much better alternative than going to Japan or something.”
The long journey reached its zenith on Wednesday when Porter — signed by the Raptors to a two-way contact last month — played seven minutes in Toronto’s 116-110 win over Memphis, his first NBA action since the second-last game of the 2020-21 season.
“It was a little nerve-wracking,” he admitted. “That’s a good thing, means you care about the sport.
“For me, it’s been a little over two years. It’s been a fruition of all the hard work I’ve put in. It was really rewarding.”
The Raptors have high hopes for Porter, who should get every chance to earn minutes as a backup centre. He shot well in the G League this season (about 37 per cent from three-point range) and was an all-star at the G League Showcase in December. He also has a big supporter in Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, who was a Memphis assistant when Porter was there and had an indelible impact on the youngster.
“For him to step in on my personal workouts and direct and try to educate, the same way he was with Ja Morant or Dillon Brooks or Brandon Clarke — he was treating me the same way, trying to invest in me as a player the same way he was everyone else,” Porter said.
“I really, really respected that. So, when I got the call that the Raptors were potentially interested, I was all on board … because I know how much he cares about the first guy off the bench versus the guy that never even dresses.”
The ever-positive Rajakovic, who never seems to have a bad day and whose positive reinforcement of every player in unequivocal, will keep telling Porter he can make it. And despite some lingering doubts, Porter will fight on. It’s what he’s always done.
“Doubt starts to creep in ... I had my restless nights when I’m watching NBA and I’m like, ‘Man, if I was in my prime, I could do better than that’ or ‘I could have done this’ or contributed on this team. Now that I get a chance to ... get a few minutes in an NBA game, hopefully I can build on that, and prove to myself and the rest of the world that I belong and I’m able to play on this level.”
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