Kevin Porter Jr. said he is ‘grateful to be back’ after one-year suspension

After being arrested back in September 2023 and missing out on an entire basketball year, Kevin Porter Jr. revealed that he is “grateful to be back” in the NBA with the Clippers club. This Monday he assured that he’s “accountable for whatever comes” if the league ever suspends him during this campaign.

The athlete finally agreed to a plea deal after going through a New York City domestic assault case, where he was found guilty to misdemeanor assault and a harassment violation linked with an incident involving his girlfriend that same month.

“I’m accountable for whatever comes,” the player guaranteed, after meeting with the press for the first time since the case blew up a year ago. “The league is going to do what the league does, and I’m ready for it.”

First look at Kevin Porter Jr. in a Clippers uniform. pic.twitter.com/VjoqLfuGre

— Kelli Johnson (@KelliJohnsonTV) September 30, 2024

Kevin is currently signed to a two-year deal in Los Angeles, where has been undergoing counselling and therapy. His plea agreement puts him in obligation to complete 26 weeks of s abusive partner intervention program, while working alongside a private counselor.

Porter Jr. revealed that he had already been undergoing counselling even since before his arrest took place. “I got to learn myself, experience some things,” the 24-year-old said. “And I feel like this is the best version of myself, so it’s been good.”

“I can’t say everything,” he answered this week when the press asked him what lessons had he learned about himself during this time. “But just my upbringing, the triggers and things and with experiences. The meaning of the experience and learning from it.”

The young guard spent all of last season playing in Greece, even though he could’ve earned a rotation role with the Clippers, had he not been suspended. The Seattle native averaged 19.2 points, 5.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds during the 2022-23 campaign with the Rockets. “I always believed in myself,” Porter said. “I know my truth, and I felt like it was a good, so definitely didn’t count myself out.

“This is the, if not No. 1, top two best jobs you can ask for as an athlete, as a person. So I’ve seen that get taken away, and then it just puts you in a place with what you want to do for the rest of your life. So I’m very grateful to be back, and I’m going to do everything I can and stay as long as I want.”

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard expects to be fully healed by the team’s season opener at the end of the month

Even though Kawhi played in 68 games last year, which is the most amount of matches he’s competed since he wore a Raptors and Clippers uniform, he still missed out on last season’s playoffs. The player still isn’t completely healed, but he knows he’s set to lead this upcoming campaign. “We’ll figure it out. I’m happy that I’m feeling good and it’s feeling a lot better than it was.

“We’re taking it day by day,” the forward shared. “Everything has been going great for the past month but being very cautious for reasons in the past we haven’t been able to finish some playoff runs, so making sure we’re staying healthy for those important moments.”

Leonard, who last season averaged his career-best three-point shooting of 41.7% along with 23.7 points per contest, hopes to improve his numbers even more this upcoming year. According to the six-time All-Star, he should be ready to play during this month’s campaign opener.

“Trying to maintain it and figure it out,” he added. “We’ll be in here for a long time if I started describing stuff [about the injury and treatment] but just learning on how it came and how to keep it down and make sure that we don’t fall in that timeframe of [missing time in] those important [late-season] moments and just making sure I’m healthy.”