Former top-3 pick Otto Porter Jr. is retiring from the NBA after 11 seasons.
Porter announced the news Monday via the team for whom he last played — the Utah Jazz. The Jazz had waived Porter just hours prior to the announcement.
“For the past 11 years, I had the chance to live my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA,” said Porter Jr. “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.”
Otto Porter Jr. has announced his retirement:
"For the past 11 years, I had the chance to live my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA. 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,… pic.twitter.com/qlIdyvhsSp
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 12, 2024
The Georgetown alum was drafted by the Washington Wizards with the third overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. He developed into the team’s starting small forward and eventually landed a massive 9-figure deal with the team.
Porter was a key part of the Warriors’ rotation during their 2022 NBA championship run. He played almost 20 minutes per game and made 3 postseason starts for the eventual champions.
The 30-year-old has had a wide variety of injuries throughout his career. Porter dealt with a nagging hip injury during his time with the Wizards. He also suffered a season-ending left foot injury just eight games into his 2022-23 campaign with the Toronto Raptors.
Porter was able to play in 15 games for the Raptors this season before being traded to the Jazz right before the trade deadline. But the health issues persisted for the 6’8″ swingman, who didn’t play a single game with the Jazz.
Porter had career averages of 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds on efficient shooting splits of 47.7% from the field and 39.7% from the three-point line.
