Title: ‘You’re gonna play again’: Jontay Porter’s arduous road back to the NBA
Date: January 5, 2024
Original Source: Sportsnet
Synopsis: In my latest at Sportsnet, I wrote about the long path back to the NBA for new Raptor Jontay Porter, who nearly walked away from the game at 22.
Michael Porter Jr. couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
The Porter family was taking in a Missouri basketball game when a fan approached Michael’s younger brother, Jontay, in the concourse. The Porters are very well known around those parts, as brothers Michael Jr., Jontay and their two sisters, Bri and Ciera, grew up in Columbia, Missouri, and all played for Missouri in college. Their father, Michael Sr., was also an assistant coach while Jontay and Michael Jr. were there. Michael Jr. had since gone on to become a key piece of a title-hopeful Denver Nuggets team, while Jontay had been off the basketball radar for a while.
“Hey, Jontay, where you playing this year?” Jontay remembers the fan asking. Slightly ashamed of being unsigned and frustrated with years of persistent knee injuries, Jontay revealed to the fan something he hadn’t yet shared with his brother.
“I’m not playing anymore,” Jontay said.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 