Kevin Porter Jr. AKA Scoot was born on May fourth, 2000. This makes him twenty-one years old, but what’s remarkable is how many accomplishments this young man has. Scoot received offers from both the University of Oregon and the University of California Berkley which are two division one schools. However, Kevin decided to play at USC for the Trojans. In his one collegiate season he played twenty-one games, and averaged 9.5 points, 1.4 assists with a field goal percentage of 47.1%, a three-point field goal percentage of 41.2%, a sligh
ly disappointing free-throw percentage being 52.2 percent, and a overall effective field goal percentage of 56.1%. His PER (player efficiency rating) was 16. 2 and his Win share (ws) was 1.2. Kevin Porter Jr. scored in every single game besides one, and the Trojans finished with nine wins and twelve losses.
After his one season at USC Kevin declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. He was selected 30th overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his rookie season, Kevin came off the bench behind guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland. In the fifty games he played he averaged a respectable ten points, 3.2 steals, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 1.9 fouls while also committing 2.7 personal fouls. His overall PER (Player efficiency rating) was 10.82. The Cav’s season, unfortunately, ended with the covid shut down as they weren’t invited to the bubble in Orlando.
Fast forward to the 2020-2021 season Kevin began the season with the Cavs, however, on January eighth, 2021 some reports came out that Porter Jr threw soup at a staff member. Additionally, another situation later arose when the Cleavland Cavaliers acquired Turin Prince in the James Harden trade along with Jaret Allen Jr. Prince ended up taking Porter’s locker, and Porter had an issue with that. The Cavs had enough, and after the outburst traded him to the Houston Rockets for a protected second-round pick. This was an amazing acquisition by the Rockets as they were looking for a new cornerstone following the Jams Harden era.
The Rocket’s organization knew that KPJ had some work to do in the maturity department, so he was sent down to the Rocket’s G League affiliate the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In the G League Porter flourished alongside fellow Rockets Anthony Lamb, Armoni Brooks, and Keyon Martin Jr. The three Vipers then joined the big club after the G league bubble concluded. Kevin Porter instantly made an impact and won his way into the fan’s hearts.
In April Porter showed that his feisty temper could be a valuable asset as well. After teammate Sterling Brown had an altercation outside a Miami strip club. Brown was later attacked by the police and without him, Brown may not have been as lucky. However, Kevin being at the club was a violation of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. As a result, he was fined 50,000 dollars. In the next game against Milwaukee, something amazing happened Porter dropped fifty points leading to Rockets to a rare win. This along with other previous comparisons to Harden lead some Rocket’s fans to refer to Kevin as baby Harden, or Harden Jr. The comparisons are there as both players are around the same height, listed as the same position, are both left-handed. KPJ even once said he would dunk on Harden.
To conclude KPJ has already made strides in his new home after having a rocky start in the NBA. As a Rocket fan, I feel incredibly honored to watch Scoot grow.
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