Murray was dominant that night. Porter was sensational in the fourth quarter, driving the Rockets to a much-needed win.
When Porter said that night and again Monday that they shared a hard road to the NBA, he did not go into the details. Murray usually only hints at that history. But there is an understanding that just making it as far as they have, to be able to share that hug on the court in San Antonio, says a great deal of how far they have come from their South End Seattle neighborhood and the crime and violence and death that surrounded them.
The game was just the second meeting in the NBA of the longtime friends and former teammates, the first since Porter’s rookie season with the Cavaliers. Each occasion remains special.
Dejounte Murray and Kevin Porter Jr. share a hug before a recent Rockets-Spurs game in San Antonio. The two players grew up in the same area of Seattle and have many shared memories of escaping a tough environment.
Getty Images“Coming into the league, that first game that we did compete against each other, it was an unreal moment and we always talked about being able to accomplish what we have, coming from where we came from, being from the same background and growing up together,” Porter said. “We know how tough it is to make it out of Seattle. Both of us being able to do it and do it together, it is something we always talk about. We’re proud of what we’re able to do for the city and for each other.”
Murray was a senior at Rainier Beach High when Porter made the team as a freshman. Murray would play one season at Washington before he was drafted by the Spurs to be groomed as Tony Parker’s successor. Porter became a highly coveted recruit, playing one season at USC before he was drafted by the Cavaliers.
Murray’s success allowed Porter to see someone from his neighborhood make it. But more than showing it could be done, it gave both something they could share.
“I always had my confidence,” Porter said. “It more so made … us more close just because of the purpose. Where we grew up, a lot of people kind of steer off the right path. He was able to change his whole life. It’s an incredible story. He is definitely someone I will always look up to.
“That’s my big brother. We were on the same team back home. Three, four years to have someone to look up to, him experiencing what he was experiencing, and me being able to learn from that, was definitely making me a believer, more of a believer in myself.”
Their NBA paths leading to their next meeting Tuesday at Toyota Center have been very different. Murray became a tough-love project of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, overcoming an ACL injury, earning All-Defensive team honors in just his second season (2017-18) and playing this season at an All-Star level, as he demonstrated in scoring a season-high 32 points in a triple-double performance against the Rockets.
“It’s a beautiful story,” Porter said of his friend’s success. “He took his time and overcame it.”
Following several off-court incidents, Porter became available to the Rockets in a trade a year ago last Saturday for a protected second-round pick the Cavaliers are unlikely ever to receive. At the time, Murray responded on Instagram that it was “A MISTAKE THEY WILL REGRET FOREVER!!!!”
Kevin Porter Jr., guarding Dejounte Murray in a recent game, was a few years behind Murray at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle.
Eric Gay /Associated PressPorter received more notoriety this season following a locker room blowup Jan. 1, leading to a one-game suspension. The Rockets, however, were determined to make it what coach Stephen Silas called “a bump in the road.”
Porter was up and down in his first games back. He was 3 of 13 in Washington but nailed the game-winning 3-pointer in the final second. He went 9 of 27 in a three-game homestand but excelled through the recent five-game road trip, averaging 17.8 points on 48.4 percent shooting while seeming more patient and in control. He nailed decisive shots — again — in wins at San Antonio, Sacramento and Salt Lake City.
Along the way, and especially after the Jan. 1 incident, he cut himself off social media, escaping the “negative” comments and helping him focus.
“I tend to take breaks from social (media),” Porter said. “Nowadays, social is used more as negative than positive. It was created more for positivity, but 2022, you know how that goes. I advise people to take a break. There’s a lot of fake stuff out there that you see. Just a little break. I do it all the time.”
His conversations with Silas were not about how he is viewed outside the Rockets or how to deal with that. The emphasis was not on rehabilitating his reputation but on growing from the incident.
“My communication to him was more about our relationship and his relationship with his teammates,” Silas said. “Not so much every other thing. When we have these conversations, we’re always talking about the controllables. For me and him, the controllables are about how we relate to each other, how we communicate with each other.
“The things he can control is his communication with his teammates, the perception his teammates may have of him, and the responsibility he has with the group.”
Silas did not advise Porter to get away from social media and did not know that he had. But it fit with the counsel he has given to avoid distractions that could take him away “from the laser focus that you need to be successful.”
“He’s been great,” Silas said. “He’s been focused, conscientious when it comes to practice and being locked in. For him at times, it is hard to let things go. The hard times, he’s been able to kind of let go and regain his focus. That’s a huge step from earlier in the season when something bad would happen and he would hold on to it for a few plays, a quarter sometimes.”
Silas said the improvement could be from their conversations or just “a little bit of growth.” No one would know better how much Porter needed to let go, how much growth he has already undergone, than Murray.
“He knew me before in middle school,” Porter said. “We grow up together. It was long before basketball.”
They did not say all that during a pregame hug in San Antonio, but it was no doubt understood.
“I only pay attention to the people that want what’s best for me and people I care about most,” Porter said. “Like going back to the media thing, there’s a lot of people that wish bad upon me, and I know.
“Knowing the people and being aware of the people that are there for you, that are real, and through adversity, through thick and thin, they’re always going to be by you on your right hand, me getting away from social media makes it clearer who they are. Having that confidence boost is why I’ve been playing so good.”
His turnaround on the court was likely not due to that embrace. But that’s when it started, with the sort of understanding and approval that can come from a “big brother.”
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
Twitter: @jonathan_feigen
Murray was dominant that night. Porter was sensational in the fourth quarter, driving the Rockets to a much-needed win.
When Porter said that night and again Monday that they shared a hard road to the NBA, he did not go into the details. Murray usually only hints at that history. But there is an understanding that just making it as far as they have, to be able to share that hug on the court in San Antonio, says a great deal of how far they have come from their South End Seattle neighborhood and the crime and violence and death that surrounded them.
The game was just the second meeting in the NBA of the longtime friends and former teammates, the first since Porter’s rookie season with the Cavaliers. Each occasion remains special.
Dejounte Murray and Kevin Porter Jr. share a hug before a recent Rockets-Spurs game in San Antonio. The two players grew up in the same area of Seattle and have many shared memories of escaping a tough environment.
Getty Images“Coming into the league, that first game that we did compete against each other, it was an unreal moment and we always talked about being able to accomplish what we have, coming from where we came from, being from the same background and growing up together,” Porter said. “We know how tough it is to make it out of Seattle. Both of us being able to do it and do it together, it is something we always talk about. We’re proud of what we’re able to do for the city and for each other.”
Murray was a senior at Rainier Beach High when Porter made the team as a freshman. Murray would play one season at Washington before he was drafted by the Spurs to be groomed as Tony Parker’s successor. Porter became a highly coveted recruit, playing one season at USC before he was drafted by the Cavaliers.
Murray’s success allowed Porter to see someone from his neighborhood make it. But more than showing it could be done, it gave both something they could share.
“I always had my confidence,” Porter said. “It more so made … us more close just because of the purpose. Where we grew up, a lot of people kind of steer off the right path. He was able to change his whole life. It’s an incredible story. He is definitely someone I will always look up to.
“That’s my big brother. We were on the same team back home. Three, four years to have someone to look up to, him experiencing what he was experiencing, and me being able to learn from that, was definitely making me a believer, more of a believer in myself.”
Their NBA paths leading to their next meeting Tuesday at Toyota Center have been very different. Murray became a tough-love project of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, overcoming an ACL injury, earning All-Defensive team honors in just his second season (2017-18) and playing this season at an All-Star level, as he demonstrated in scoring a season-high 32 points in a triple-double performance against the Rockets.
“It’s a beautiful story,” Porter said of his friend’s success. “He took his time and overcame it.”
Following several off-court incidents, Porter became available to the Rockets in a trade a year ago last Saturday for a protected second-round pick the Cavaliers are unlikely ever to receive. At the time, Murray responded on Instagram that it was “A MISTAKE THEY WILL REGRET FOREVER!!!!”
Kevin Porter Jr., guarding Dejounte Murray in a recent game, was a few years behind Murray at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle.
Eric Gay /Associated PressPorter received more notoriety this season following a locker room blowup Jan. 1, leading to a one-game suspension. The Rockets, however, were determined to make it what coach Stephen Silas called “a bump in the road.”
Porter was up and down in his first games back. He was 3 of 13 in Washington but nailed the game-winning 3-pointer in the final second. He went 9 of 27 in a three-game homestand but excelled through the recent five-game road trip, averaging 17.8 points on 48.4 percent shooting while seeming more patient and in control. He nailed decisive shots — again — in wins at San Antonio, Sacramento and Salt Lake City.
Along the way, and especially after the Jan. 1 incident, he cut himself off social media, escaping the “negative” comments and helping him focus.
“I tend to take breaks from social (media),” Porter said. “Nowadays, social is used more as negative than positive. It was created more for positivity, but 2022, you know how that goes. I advise people to take a break. There’s a lot of fake stuff out there that you see. Just a little break. I do it all the time.”
His conversations with Silas were not about how he is viewed outside the Rockets or how to deal with that. The emphasis was not on rehabilitating his reputation but on growing from the incident.
“My communication to him was more about our relationship and his relationship with his teammates,” Silas said. “Not so much every other thing. When we have these conversations, we’re always talking about the controllables. For me and him, the controllables are about how we relate to each other, how we communicate with each other.
“The things he can control is his communication with his teammates, the perception his teammates may have of him, and the responsibility he has with the group.”
Silas did not advise Porter to get away from social media and did not know that he had. But it fit with the counsel he has given to avoid distractions that could take him away “from the laser focus that you need to be successful.”
“He’s been great,” Silas said. “He’s been focused, conscientious when it comes to practice and being locked in. For him at times, it is hard to let things go. The hard times, he’s been able to kind of let go and regain his focus. That’s a huge step from earlier in the season when something bad would happen and he would hold on to it for a few plays, a quarter sometimes.”
Silas said the improvement could be from their conversations or just “a little bit of growth.” No one would know better how much Porter needed to let go, how much growth he has already undergone, than Murray.
“He knew me before in middle school,” Porter said. “We grow up together. It was long before basketball.”
They did not say all that during a pregame hug in San Antonio, but it was no doubt understood.
“I only pay attention to the people that want what’s best for me and people I care about most,” Porter said. “Like going back to the media thing, there’s a lot of people that wish bad upon me, and I know.
“Knowing the people and being aware of the people that are there for you, that are real, and through adversity, through thick and thin, they’re always going to be by you on your right hand, me getting away from social media makes it clearer who they are. Having that confidence boost is why I’ve been playing so good.”
His turnaround on the court was likely not due to that embrace. But that’s when it started, with the sort of understanding and approval that can come from a “big brother.”
jonathan.feigen@chron.com
Twitter: @jonathan_feigen
