Porter’s training changes pay dividends on court
Shortly after Otto Porter Jr. signed with the Warriors in August, he met with the team’s training staff to map out a plan for staying healthy.
This was no easy objective, given that Porter had missed 112 of a possible 154 games over the previous two seasons. What he found was that his recent injuries — ailments to the back, left foot and hips — were related. To resuscitate a once-promising NBA career, Porter would need to overhaul his day-to-day approach: how he stands, how he runs, even how he breathes.
“It’s down to the very basics,” Porter said. “It’s super detailed. It’s a lot.”
Over the past month-plus, Porter worked with Dr. Rick Celebrini — the Warriors’ director of sports medicine and performance — to economize his movements, finetune his balance and improve his agility. Their sessions together were so effective that Porter said he entered training camp feeling the best he has, both physically and mentally, since he went third overall in the 2013 draft.
This has translated to the court, where Porter looks like quite the bargain on a oneyear, $2.4 million contract. Through three preseason games, he is averaging 14.3 points on 56.5% shooting (58.8% from 3-point range), 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 18.6 minutes.
Late in the second quarter of Wednesday’s exhibition win over the Nuggets, Andrew Wiggins dribbled into the paint and whipped a pass to a wide-open Porter in the corner. As defenders darted toward him, Porter found Stephen Curry, who drained a 3-pointer before anyone could get a hand on him.
After the game, Porter told reporters, “They left Steph wide open. For me? OK. But Steph? You’re going to leave him open? Bad idea, buddy.”
The sequence speaks to the conundrum defenses face against the Warriors. With Porter and fellow sharpshooter Nemanja Bjelica patrolling the perimeter, teams often must risk leaving one open if they send extra pressure toward Curry. That’s not ideal, considering that Porter and Bjelica boast career 3-point clips of 40.2% and 38.7% respectively.
But to build a reputation early in his career as one of the league’s best complementary players, Porter needed to do more than knock down 3-pointers. A 6-foot-8, 198pound small forward with a 7-1 wingspan, he has the size to guard big men and the quickness to stay in front of wings.
Porter’s ball-handling ability makes him a capable option to initiate the offense from time to time.
The big question has been his health. Shortly before his rookie training camp with the Wizards in 2013, Porter began to deal with hip pain. It became a nagging issue that forced him to overcompensate in various ways.
Still, Porter parlayed a memorable 2016-17 season — 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists for a team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals — into a fouryear, $106 million maximum deal. The following year, in a first-round playoff series against the Raptors, he suffered a left leg injury that required emergency surgery.
Many consider that the point when Porter’s career began trending in the wrong direction. In February 2019, Porter was traded in a salary dump to Chicago, where he was limited to 54 games in two years because of back and foot issues.
Shortly after he was moved to Orlando in March, Porter dealt with lingering pain in his left foot. Team trainers noticed that he had caused a stress reaction by putting too much weight on that foot, a coping mechanism that could have dated to the initial hip issues.
Porter played three games with the Magic, whose trainers helped him get comfortable running again this past summer. By the time he entered free agency in August, Porter knew that the fit, not the money, needed to be his priority.
In the Warriors, he saw a team close to vaulting back into title contention. A reliable “3-and-D” wing such as Porter could offer a muchneeded sidekick to Curry, Draymond Green and (eventually) Klay Thompson.
“I’m at the point in my career where it’s not really about money,” said Porter, who reportedly turned down offers from other teams at the $5.9 million mid-level exception to sign a veteran-minimum deal with Golden State. “It’s about joy. Playing the game how it’s supposed to be played, having fun.”
Throughout Porter’s injury saga, he tried to maintain perspective. Looking at players such as Thompson, who hasn’t entered a game in 28 months because of a torn ACL and then a torn Achilles tendon, reminded him that things could be far worse. On Porter’s worst days, he thought about how he didn’t even daydream about the NBA as a kid in rural southeastern Missouri because it felt impossible.
Now, as a budget acquisition on a team fresh off two lottery appearances, Porter makes a point to appreciate the simple things: getting to know teammates, traveling the country and, of course, playing a game for a living. This mind-set, combined with his renewed health, has him laughing and smiling like he did as a pre-teen on the outdoor courts of Morley, Mo. (population: 659).
“I just see a guy who’s having a ton of fun out on the floor,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “He’s really feeling healthy, enjoying himself, finding a role quickly.
“He really knows how to play, and he’s going to fit in just fine here.”