Kevin Porter Jr. saw what started as a rather dreadful week turn around in a big way on Wednesday night when he hit a sidestepping, game-winning three at the buzzer to give the Rockets a much-needed win over the Wizards on the road.
The shot stopped an 8-game losing streak for Houston, but also saw Porter Jr. bounce back from his one-game suspension for an argument he had with an assistant coach during a loss on Saturday in which he reportedly threw something and then left the arena entirely at halftime. It was a redemptive moment and the kind of response Stephen Silas and the Houston coaching staff were certainly hoping for when they sent the message to Porter Jr. and Christian Wood with their suspension for poor behavior — Wood had 22 points in the win.
However, on the home feed of the game, the Wizards broadcast marred the moment with some of the worst, most unnecessary commentary you’ll ever hear in such a moment during the replay, saying, “Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time.”
“Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time”
I can’t believe this was actually said on the Wizards broadcast.. Completely inexcusable. pic.twitter.com/bZcWEVqPOP
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) January 6, 2022
Now, the only possible, somewhat acceptable explanation is that they thought Porter’s father was the former Washington Bullet, Kevin Porter, who played in the 70s and early 80s. That is not the case. Porter Jr.’s actual father was a basketball player from Seattle, but his story makes the reference truly horrific.
Porter Jr. lost his father when he was four after he was shot in a Seattle bar in 2004. Eleven years prior, his father was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for first-degree manslaughter, initially pursued as first-degree murder after a witness claimed he shot the girl purposefully, but later dropped to manslaughter after the witness recanted, and Porter Sr. saying he was handing the girl his semiautomatic weapon and it accidentally discharged, killing her.
If it was purposeful to reference that, it is an abjectly horrible thing to bring up so casually and callously in any situation, but particularly during a basketball game in one of the biggest moments of Porter Jr.’s young career. If an accident and a case of mistaken identity, it is the worst coincidence ever and, in any case, a sincere apology is in order.
