After an 11-year NBA career that included winning a championship with the 2022 Golden State Warriors, Otto Porter has announced his retirement.
“For the past 11 years, I had the chance to live my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA,” Porter Jr. said in a statement released through the Utah Jazz. “That dream was capped by winning an NBA Championship! Unfortunately, my body is not allowing me to play at the level that I expect of myself, and I have therefore decided to retire.”
Porter had been waived by the Jazz earlier in the day.
If you want to know what kind of a guy Porter was, go back to his rookie year with the Wizards after playing for Georgetown (Porter was the No. 3 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft). As a letter writer to the Washington Post explained, a homeless man had spent about 25 minutes outside a D.C. sandwich shop begging for food or money when Porter arrived, went inside, and came out with two sandwiches, one for himself and one for the homeless man, then proceeded to sit down and talk with the man while they ate. It was an act of generosity and kindness when he didn’t know anyone was watching that speaks to the character of the man.
Porter, 30, averaged 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds a game during his career. He played his first five-and-a-half seasons in Washington before moving on to Chicago, Orlando, Golden State and Toronto over the course of his playing days. The Jazz acquired Porter Jr. in a trade that sent Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji to Toronto, but Porter Jr. never set foot on the court there. After being traded to Utah he stepped away from the team to consider his options.
Porter has been battling health issues and has played in only 23 games over the past two seasons. He has played in more than 30 games in a season just once in the last five (the 2022 Warriors title run season).
