| Craig Porter Jr. | |
| Position: | Point guard |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lbs: | 185 |
| League: | NBA |
| Team: | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Number: | 9 |
| Birth Date: | 26 February 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. |
| High School: | South (Terre Haute, Indiana) |
| College: |
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| Draft Year: | 2023 |
| Career Start: | 2023 |
| Years1: | –present |
| Team1: | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| Years2: | 2024 |
| Team2: | →Cleveland Charge |
| Highlights: | |
Craig Porter Jr. (born February 26, 2000) is an American basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Vincennes Trailblazers and the Wichita State Shockers.
Porter Jr. was born on February 26, 2000, and grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he attended Terre Haute South Vigo High School. During high school, he was named to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association's Senior All-State Team and lead his team to the 4A state quarterfinals.[1]
Porter Jr. started his collegiate career with the Vincennes Trailblazers, where in two seasons with the Trailblazers he helped lead them to a combined 62–7 record and a NJCAA national championship in 2019.[2] [3] After being with the Trailblazers for two seasons, Porter would decide to commit to Wichita State.[4] [5]
In his first season with the Shockers, he would play in 19 games, starting in two of them, where he would average 2.1 points per game, 2.1 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists per game, and 12.9 minutes per game.[6] After the conclusion of the season he would enter the transfer portal but would return to the Shockers.[7]
In his second year at Wichita State, he would play in 25 games, starting in 24, in which he averaged 7.3 points per game, 4.9 rebounds, per game, 3.6 assists per game, and 26.9 minutes per game.[8] After the end of the season, Porter Jr. would enter his name into the transfer portal.[9] However he would return after two former Wichita State baseball players formed a NIL (Name Image and Likeness Collective) called Armchair Strategies.[10] [11]
On February 26, 2023, Porter Jr. had his best career game posting a triple double, recording 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, while also adding three steals in a 83–76 over Tulane.[12] Porter Jr. finished the season playing 31 games, starting in 30, while putting up 13.5 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, 4.9 assists per game, and 33.6 minutes per game.[13] For his performance on the year, he would be named to the Third Team All-AAC conference team.[14] After the conclusion of the season, Porter Jr. annonuced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility to declare for the NBA draft.[15] [16]
After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, Porter signed a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on July 7, 2023.[17] [18] [19] On November 19, he recorded 21 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds off the bench in a 121–109 win over the Denver Nuggets.[20] On February 14, 2024, he signed a standard contract with the Cavaliers.[21]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Cleveland| 51 || 6 || 12.7 || .509 || .353 || .732 || 2.1 || 2.3 || .4 || .3 || 5.6|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 51 || 6 || 12.7 || .509 || .353 || .732 || 2.1 || 2.3 || .4 || .3 || 5.6