Bleacher Report recently reported that former Golden State Warriors star Otto Porter Jr. has announced his retirement from the NBA after 11 seasons. Drafted in 2013 as the third overall pick by the Washington Wizards, Porter Jr. spent just one season with the Warriors but left a deep imprint on the franchise. In the wake of his retirement, his former Warriors teammate Draymond Green gave the former NBA Wing props on his Instagram story.
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Green shared Bleacher Report’s official IG post about Porter Jr.’s retirement. At the top of his story, Green wrote “Yeaaahhhhh CHAMP!!”
“Job well done OP,” he added at the bottom end of his story, below a picture of OPJ with the 2022 NBA Championship trophy.
Draymond Green put up a story for Otto Porter Jr pic.twitter.com/PIhFnhjwTu
— What are NBA Celebs Upto? (@NBACelebsUpdate) March 12, 2024
During the 2021-22 season, Porter Jr. and Draymond Green both played integral roles in the Warriors’ incredible title run. OP was a flexible option for coach Kerr, who employed him both as a starter and as a bench player. His rebounding, defense, and long-range shooting skills made him a perfect role player for the loaded Warriors offense.
In the NBA Finals, he started in three games. In the Game 1 loss against the Celtics, he scored 12 points, nailing 4 out of 5 triple attempts. The 30-year-old played a crucial role in the eventual 4-2 NBA Finals win against the stacked Celts. After parting ways with the Dubs, Porter Jr’s career took a tumble because of injuries. His whole career has been plagued by injury-enforced absences and that’s why the Utah Jazz decided to waive him recently following his stint with the Toronto Raptors.
Otto Porter Jr. had a solid NBA career
With the Georgetown Hoyas, OP played two seasons. The former four-star high-school recruit increased his stock value significantly during his second year with the Hoyas. Therefore, he was selected at #3 during the 2013 NBA draft.
After his rookie season was marred by a hip injury, Porter Jr. began a productive NBA journey. He became a regular starter in his third season and also lodged his first double-digit scoring season in the 2015-16 window. After a solid 2016-17 season, he lodged 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game on 50.3% shooting from the floor during the 2017-18 season.
In terms of his best full-season performance numbers-wise, the 2017-18 year was his best. In 2019, he was traded to the Bulls, where he pretty much disappeared because of relentless injuries. After being traded to Orlando in 2021, he would sign a veteran minimum contract with the Warriors.
In 63 games for the Warriors, the stellar Wing put up 8.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 46.4% from the floor and 37% from the three-point line(1.3 makes per game). For the title-winning team, he was a reliable corner three-point option and brought an unselfish attitude to the side.
In 2022, he signed a two-year, $12.4 million contract with the Toronto Raptors. However, he’d feature in 23 games due to a dislocated toe injury and was traded to the Utah Jazz during the mid-season. He never played for the Jazz and was waived by them in less than five weeks. Therefore, he decided to call it quits finally.
