Christopher Bernard Porter (born May 9, 1978) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Known for his large

afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

hairstyle and giant

vertical leap A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

, he created excitement early in his career with his dunking and rebounding abilities. Largely seen as too undersized to play

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

at the NBA level, his style fit in perfectly with coach

Cliff Ellis Robert Clifford Ellis (born December 5, 1945) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach at Coastal Carolina University. Going into the 2020–21 season, Coach Ellis's 800 NCAA Division I victories rank him 8th on the list ...

' style of full court pressure while playing at Auburn.

Early life

Porter was born and raised in Abbeville, Alabama, a small town with "just three streetlights" and a few thousand people. He attended Abbeville High where he helped the school win the 4A State Championship as a senior. He subsequently earned 4A State Player of the Year honors.

College career

Between 1996 and 1998, Porter played college basketball for

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor's ...

where he earned

JUCO A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

All-American honors. He then played two years for Auburn University, helping them reach the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1998–99, Porter's junior season. He was named SEC

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

that season and was selected to the

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

team. The following year, Porter was pictured on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' as the Auburn Tigers were picked to win the national title. However, true to the Sports Illustrated cover jinx, the Tigers struggled and Porter was suspended for the last eight games of the season for accepting money from an agent while still in college. Porter reportedly accepted $2,500 to save his mother from being evicted from her home and claimed he did not know the person was affiliated with any sports agency.

Professional career

NBA

Porter was selected with the 55th overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. As a rookie in 2000–01, he averaged 8.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 51 games. His season was hindered, however, by a nagging sprained left ankle. Despite a solid rookie season, the 2001 off-season proved to be Porter's downfall from the NBA. After showing up three days late to the Warriors' summer camp, followed by an off-the-court arrest, Porter was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in a three-team, eight-player deal on October 25, 2001, just days prior to the start of the 2001–02 season. However, Porter missed his flight the next morning from

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, which the Hornets said was enough reason to waive him on the spot. With pending drug charges against him from an August arrest in Alabama in which police stopped him and found cocaine, marijuana and a handgun in his car, the Hornets refused to give Porter any leeway. Porter would never play in the NBA after the 2000 - 2001 season with his final game being on April 18, 2001 in a 81 - 95 loss to the Vancouver Grizzlies. In his final game, Porter recorded a double-double (14 points and 11 rebounds) as the Warriors starting Small Forward.

CBA, USBL, Italy and Portugal

In January 2002, Porter signed with the

Dakota Wizards The Dakota Wizards were an American professional basketball team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They played in the NBA Development League from 2006 until 2012. After the 2011–12 season, the team relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and now pl ...

of the Continental Basketball Association. In 24 games for Dakota in 2001–02, he averaged 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game, helping the team win the 2002 CBA championship. Following the CBA season, he had a six-game stint with the Oklahoma Storm of the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

, helping the team win the 2002 USBL championship. In August 2002, Porter signed with Carifac Fabriano of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

. His stint with the Italian club lasted just 10 games, averaging 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. In January 2003, he re-joined the Dakota Wizards. Later that year, he had stint in Puerto Rico with Gigantes de Carolina and again played for the Oklahoma Storm. For the 2003–04 season, Porter moved to Portugal where he played for Oliveirense Simoldes. His stint lasted until January 2004 when he was released by the club. He went on to play for both the Dakota Wizards and Oklahoma Storm once again during 2004. In 2004–05, he split the season playing for the Dakota Wizards and Korean team Daegu Orions.

China and Philippines

For the 2005–06 season, Porter moved to China where he joined Fujian Xunxing. He played 10 games for Fujian before departing the club in December 2005 and joining the

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

. He led the team through to the semi-finals of the 2006 PBA Playoffs before they lost their series 4–3 to rival and eventual champion, the

Red Bull Barako Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

. Porter returned to China for the 2006–07 season, re-joining Fujian Xunxing. In 29 games for the club in 2006–07, he averaged 22 points and 13 rebounds per game. In January 2007, he played for the CBA All-Stars in a two-game exhibition series against the Korean Basketball League All-Stars. Porter scored 17 points in Game 1, and 13 points in Game 2, with the CBA losing both games. He again played for Fujian in 2007–08, but he managed just 15 games before departing the club in December 2007. He returned to Fujian in 2008, playing for the club until December 2010 when he was released half-way through the 2010–11 season due to an injury. In June 2011, Porter joined the Powerade Tigers for the 2011 PBA Governors' Cup.

NBA D-League

After a stint in the ABA for the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...

in 2011–12, Porter began a successful three-year run with the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The Mad ...

of the NBA Development League between December 2012 and April 2015, winning a championship with the team in 2013–14. In 126 regular season games for the Mad Ants over three seasons, Porter averaged 6.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 17.8 minutes per game. In June 2014, Porter had a one-game stint with the Texas Lone Star Strikers of the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The I ...

New Zealand

On January 19, 2016, Porter signed with the

Hawke's Bay Hawks The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Taylor Hawk ...

for the

2016 New Zealand NBL season The 2016 NBL season was the 35th season of the National Basketball League. The league's team total dropped to an all-time low for the 2016 season, with the departure of the Manawatu Jets leaving the competition with seven teams. The 2016 pre-s ...

. Named co-captain of the team alongside Aidan Daly, he made his debut for the Hawks in the team's season opener on March 13. In 26 minutes of action as a starter, he recorded a team-high 21 points and 6 rebounds in an 89–74 loss to the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

. On March 24, he recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds against the

Southland Sharks The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank S ...

. Four days later, he recorded a second consecutive double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds against the Canterbury Rams. After going 0–4 over their first four games, things got worse for the Hawks on April 3 with Porter being ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. In those four games, Porter averaged 18.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 51 , , 35 , , 22.5 , , .389 , , .000 , , .667 , , 3.7 , , 1.2 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 8.6

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 1998–99 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 30 , , 30 , , 28.7 , , .470 , , .364 , , .631 , , 8.6 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.4 , , 16.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1999–00 , style="text-align:left;", Auburn , 26 , , 26 , , 29.0 , , .464 , , .235 , , .676 , , 7.3 , , 1.2 , , 2.0 , , 0.4 , , 14.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 56 , , 56 , , 28.9 , , .467 , , .308 , , .651 , , 8.0 , , 1.1 , , 2.1 , , 0.4 , , 15.3

Other media

Porter has appeared as a playable character in the video games '' ESPN NBA 2Night'', ''

NBA 2K1 ''NBA 2K1'' is a 2000 sports video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by Sega. It was the first ''NBA 2K'' game to feature online multiplayer and the first game to feature street courses instead of playing a game inside the arena in ...

'', ''

NBA Hoopz ''NBA Hoopz'' is a basketball video game published by Midway Games. It is the sequel to ''NBA Hangtime'' and '' NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC''. ''Hoopz'' was the only 3-on-3, arcade-style basketball video game available during the 2000–01 NBA sea ...

'', '' NBA Live 2001'' ('' PS2'' & '' PC'' versions), '' NBA Live 2002'', ''

NBA ShootOut 2001 ''NBA ShootOut 2001'' is a video game developed by 989 Studios, 989 Sports and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation in 2000, and for PlayStation 2 in 2001. R ...

'' ('' PS1'' version only) and '' NBA ShootOut 2002''.

Drug arrests

Porter has been arrested numerous times due to drug possession. The first time was in August 2001 when Alabama police found small plastic bags of cocaine and marijuana in the car he was driving. In April 2006, Alabama police charged him with driving under the influence and second-degree possession of marijuana. In November 2010, he pleaded guilty in Houston County Circuit Court to a misdemeanor marijuana charge. In January 2021, Porter was arrested by the Dothan Police Department for 1st degree sexual abuse. Arrest record show the charge stems from an allegation that he fondled a female teenager (18 years of age).