NBA Playing Career
Going in to the 1985 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs, all looked to draft Porter. Most pundits, including Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe, projected him going to the Houston Rockets with the 19th pick in the draft, while Jan Hubbard of the Dallas Morning News had him going to the Detroit Pistons with the number 18 pick. And he was considered the second best choice at point guard, behind Sam Vincent, out of Michigan State.
On June 18, 1985 the Portland Trail Blazers selected Porter with the 24th overall pick in the NBA Draft. Porter slipped from the projected 18th or 19th pick while other guards, Joe Dumars (18th by the Pistons), Steve Harris (19th by the Rockets), and Sam Vincent (20th by the Celtics), went ahead of him.
During his decade-long tenure in Portland, Porter went to the NBA Finals twice and continues to hold the NBA Finals single-game record for the most free throws made, none missed—15 (June 7, 1990 at Detroit). He was the recipient of the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 1993, and remains as the Trail Blazers' all-time assists leader with 5,319. Porter signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to the 1995-96 season and helped the Wolves clinch their first-ever playoff berth in 1996-97 and their first winning season the following year.
He signed with the Miami Heat before the 1998-99 campaign, and signed with the San Antonio Spurs prior to the 1999-2000 season. He retired after the 2001-02 season, having never been traded during his NBA career. Porter’s teams compiled a record of 815-547 (.598) during his career, and only once failed to make the postseason.
In 1,274 career games, Porter averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 assists and 1.24 steals during a career that included two All-Star berths (1991, 1993), two trips to the NBA Finals (1990, 1992) and 15,586 career points. He is 12th on the NBA’s all-time assist list (7,160). Porter has played for five of the top 36 coaches (games won) in NBA history: Pat Riley (1,210), Rick Adelman (945), Jack Ramsay (864), Gregg Popovich (797) and Flip Saunders (636).
On December 16, 2008, the Trail Blazers retired Porter's #30 jersey.
Read more about this topic: Terry Porter
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