Portland Trail Blazers: 25 Best Players To Play For The Trail Blazers
By Phil Watson
Terry Porter traveled an unconventional route to the NBA.
Lightly recruited out of high school, he became an NAIA All-American at Wisconsin-Stevens Point and attracted enough notice that the Portland Trail Blazers selected him with the 24th overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.
It took him a year to earn a starting job, but Porter was a two-time All-Star for the Blazers and helped them to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992.
He was third in the NBA in 3-pointers in 1990-91 and fifth in 1992-93 and was fourth in 3-point shooting in 1990-91 as well. He also placed fourth in the league in assists in 1987-88 and 1988-89 and was fifth in 1986-87.
In the 1990 NBA Finals, Porter averaged 19 points, 8.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and two steals in 41.2 minutes per game, shooting .393/.280/.889 in a five-game loss to the Detroit Pistons.
Back in the Finals in 1992, he averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and a steal in 43.8 minutes per game, shooting .471/3-for-13/.824 as the Blazers lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games.
He was released in September 1995.
He signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in October 1995 before being released in July 1998.
In January 1999, Porter signed with the Miami Heat before being released in July of the same year.
He signed with the San Antonio Spurs in August 1999, retiring in 2002.
Porter later coached the Milwaukee Bucks to a 71-93 record from 2003-05, going 1-4 in the playoffs, and was coach of the Phoenix Suns in 2008-09, fired after a 28-23 start.
He is 26th in NBA history with 1,274 games, 35th with 1,297 3-pointers, 14th with 7,160 assists and 31st with 1,583 steals.
Next: Sheed The Poster Boy For Great Team That Fell Short