Kevin Porter (basketball)

Kevin Porter (born April 17, 1950) is an American former professional basketball player. He played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and led the league in assists in four of those seasons.

Kevin Porter
Personal information
Born (1950-04-17) April 17, 1950
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolDuSable (Chicago, Illinois)
CollegeSaint Francis (PA) (1968–1972)
NBA draft1972 / Round: 3 / Pick: 39th overall
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets
Playing career1972–1983
PositionPoint guard
Number10, 1
Coaching career1983–1987
Career history
As player:
1972–1975Baltimore / Capital / Washington Bullets
1975–1977Detroit Pistons
1977–1978New Jersey Nets
1978–1979Detroit Pistons
1979–1983Washington Bullets
1983Toyota Super Corollas
As coach:
1983–1987Saint Francis (PA)
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA playing statistics
Points7,645 (11.6 ppg)
Rebounds1,179 (1.8 rpg)
Assists5,314 (8.1 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Career coaching record
College42–68 (.382)

Born and raised in Chicago, Porter graduated from DuSable High School, then played point guard at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He played ten seasons (1972–1981; 1982–1983) in the NBA as a member of the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets, Detroit Pistons, and New Jersey Nets. One of the most talented passers in league history, Porter led the league in both assists per game and total assists four times during his career.

Career

In the 1972 NBA draft, Porter was the 39th overall pick, selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the third round. In his second year, he led the league in personal fouls with 319. While he received 320 the next year, he won his first of four assist titles (with 8.0 per game) in 1975. The Bullets reached the NBA Finals, but were swept by the underdog Golden State Warriors. In late August 1975, Porter was traded to the Detroit Pistons for Dave Bing and a first round draft pick in 1977,[1] used to select Tree Rollins. Porter suffered a knee injury in his second season with Detroit and appeared in only nineteen games.

In the early start of his third season with the Pistons, he was traded with Howard Porter and cash to the New Jersey Nets for Al Skinner, a 1978 2nd round draft pick (used to select Terry Tyler) and a 1979 2nd round draft pick (used to select Tony Price). On February 24, 1978, Porter had 29 assists in a game against the Rockets while with the Nets. He also had 14 points and 5 rebounds in a season the led to his 2nd assist title, with 10.2 per game. The record would stand until Scott Skiles tallied 30 assists on December 30, 1990.

After the season, he was traded back to the Pistons for Eric Money. In that season, he won his third assist title, with 13.4 per game. He had a 30 point-25 assist game, on March 9, 1979.[2] Additionally he was the first player to record over 1,000 assists in a single season. It would be five years before another player would record over 1,000 assists.

After that season, he signed as a veteran free agent with the Washington Bullets. The Detroit Pistons received a first round draft pick in 1980 (which ended up with Golden State, who selected Rickey Brown with that pick) and a 1982 first round pick (Used to select John Bagley) as compensation for his departure. Porter appeared in two playoff games that year and garnered nine assists as the Bullets fell in the first round. The following year, he had 9.1 assists per game, which was enough to win his final assist title. However, during training camp before the 1981 season, he snapped his Achilles tendon, missing all of that season.[3] He only played 11 games of the next season, having only 4.2 assists per game. On January 18, 1983, he was waived by the Bullets. When he retired in 1983, he had accumulated 5,314 career assists (good for 49th all time) and 7,645 career points, while also being 14th all time in career assists per game and 13th in assist percentage at 37.5. Notably, of the top 50 in career assist leaders, he played the fewest games (659). Despite leading the league in assists per game four times, he was never selected to an All Star Game.[4] Only five players have won more assists titles than Porter, and all five of them are in the Hall of Fame (Stockton, Cousy, Robertson, Nash and Kidd).

In 1983, he played in the Philippines for the Toyota Super Corollas with Robert Jaworski in the Philippine Basketball Association as an import during the Open Conference tournament and along with Billy Ray Bates of the rival Crispa Redmanizers with Atoy Co and Abet Guidaben.

St. Francis University Coach

While Porter was playing in the Philippines, the head coaching job at Saint Francis University opened up. Georgetown University coach John Thompson recommended him for the job.[5] Porter took over as the St. Francis head coach on July 11, 1983.[6] During his four seasons as the St. Franics coach, Porter's record was 42-68.[7] He was succeeded by Jim Barron, who led St. Francis to its only NCAA Basketball Tournament appearance at the conclusion of the 1990-91 season during Barron's five-year stint in Loretto.[8] Barron was able to record two winning seasons out of five at St. Francis; the men's basketball team has recorded a total of four winning seasons since that NCAA appearance.[9]

NBA player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 *  Led the league

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1972–73 Baltimore 71–17.1.455–.6141.03.3––6.6
1973–74 Capital 81–28.9.478–.7232.25.81.20.114.0
1974–75 Washington 81–32.0.491–.7041.98.0*1.90.111.6
1975–76 Detroit 19–36.2.421–.7502.310.21.80.212.6
1976–77 Detroit 81–26.1.512–.7291.27.31.10.18.9
1977–78 Detroit 8–15.9.452–.6921.94.50.60.04.6
1977–78 New Jersey 74–36.3.470–.7652.710.8*1.60.216.2
1978–79 Detroit 82–37.4.481–.7222.513.4*1.90.115.4
1979–80 Washington 70–21.3.459.000.8031.26.50.80.27.3
1980–81 Washington 81–31.8.519.250.7731.59.1*1.40.113.4
1982–83 Washington 11019.1.525–.8330.54.20.90.04.3
Career 659–29.0.483.188.7371.88.11.40.111.6

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1973 Baltimore 4–10.3.500––0.52.3––3.0
1974 Capital 7–27.9.388–.6432.44.61.10.010.7
1975 Washington 17–36.8.503–.6672.47.31.20.014.4
1977 Detroit 3–20.3.357–.6672.05.70.30.05.3
1980 Washington 2–24.5.438.000.4001.04.51.50.08.0
Career 33–29.4.463.000.6492.15.81.10.011.0
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See also

References
  1. "Bullets acquire Bing". Free-Lance Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. August 28, 1975. p. 8.
  2. Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons Box Score, March 9, 1979 | Basketball-Reference.com
  3. The Lowdown: Kevin Porter. (October 6, 2012).
  4. THE POINT GUARD THAT TIME FORGOT: THE STRANGE TRIP OF KEVIN PORTER
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