With his uniquely structured contract extension official, fourth-year Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. didn’t hold back when asked about its personal significance.
“This is the biggest day of my life,” Porter told reporters after Thursday’s practice at Toyota Center. “This ranks No. 1, for sure.”
“I’ve always seen my potential, but that’s what it’s been these past few years, just potential,” added Porter, now 22 years old. “I’m starting to put everything together. It’s dope.”
Porter reflected on what he calls “mishaps” earlier in his career, and he said it was part of what made Monday so special. His comments:
It makes everything feel a lot more, wow, just worth it. Everything up to this point, the offseason last season, the year with John (Wall), just learning … picking his brain, turning into a point guard, all of that. It was a journey, and the journey is not going to stop here.
It means a lot. This is a milestone in my life that I’ve reached. It’s more motivation to keep going. A lot of things that have happened in my first few years in the league, my career has definitely been a roller coaster, and this is a blessing.
At one point in September 2021, Porter said the Rockets organization “potentially saved my life.” When asked by RocketsWire’s Brian Barefield about those comments and Porter’s growth over the months since, Silas paused for many seconds and teared up.
“It means a lot,” Silas finally uttered.
I asked Rockets head coach Stephen Silas about what it meant to see @Kevinporterjr stillwith the team, especially after KPJ made the comments two years that the franchise saved his life. Coach Silas got emotional when talking about it. #LightTheFuse #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/G1XzunbkVJ
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) October 17, 2022
Earlier in the interview session, Silas said of Porter:
Thinking about where he came from, how we got him … him in the G League bubble, him coming up here and having ups and downs, suspension, everything we’ve gone through together, I’m proud of him. I’m so, so happy for him. This is just the beginning.
When you put a lot of time into something and a lot of effort and a lot of conversations, a lot of thought, then for it to come to fruition, it feels good. There’s no more proud feeling for me than how I feel about him right now. It’s not about me or the organization. But, yeah, we spent a lot of time, gone through some ups and downs, some moments he grew from.
He’s been growing since we got him.
Complete interviews with Silas, Porter and KJ Martin can be viewed below, courtesy of Jackson Gatlin’s exclusive YouTube channel. As for Porter, he ended his session with a perfect summation.
“I’m here for a long time,” Porter said. “Let’s rock and roll!”
Houston Rockets guard @Kevinporterjr on the city of Houston embracing him:
“H-Town baby, this is my home!” #LightTheFuse #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/zX0bM6e1z6— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) October 17, 2022
