How underrated was Terry Porter?

[jrong]

He's not going to make any all-time top-whatever lists, but I think he has a case for being on an all-time underrated list. One of the reasons I believe Drexler is overrated is because, for at least a while in that Portland era, Porter was more clutch and was very often the go-to-guy down the stretch in 4th quarters.

[Chalkmaze]

He's not going to make any all-time top-whatever lists, but I think he has a case for being on an all-time underrated list. One of the reasons I believe Drexler is overrated is because, for at least a while in that Portland era, Porter was more clutch and was very often the go-to-guy down the stretch in 4th quarters.

Drexler isn't overrated. Drexler and Porter were a great tandem, and everyone knew it. Porter had competitive stats, but his numbers don't pop out to those today who choose to only look at statistics. Porter was an example of why statistics and highlights don't tell the whole story. People need to watch players actually play the game in order to fully understand the impact they had.

[SCdac]

It sucks that he wasn't able to win a ring as a veteran with San Antonio, joining that team just after the 99 season and retiring just prior to the 03 season. He was one of the best perimeter defenders to suit up in the Silver and Black in the last decade or so, behind Bruce Bowen but up there with Elie, Elliott, Ginobili, and Jackson. Was one of my favorites growing up - though I later wasn't fond of his NBA commentary once he retired (he's hard to understand at times), and he didn't strike me as anything but a good defensive coach. But deserves props none the less.

[G.O.A.T]

I don't think Porter was under rated while he was playing though. He and Drexler were considered the best or second best (behind Isiah and Joe) back court in the league. Porter made at least one all-star game, a few I think. He falls into that second tier of point guards though along with Mark Jackson, Guy Rodgers, Kevin Porter, Rod Strickland, Sam Cassell etc. Guys who were good but will not be remembered the same way as the perennial all-stars and champions as time goes on.

Those Blazer teams were great though...Drexler and Porter Buck Williams and Jerome Kersey. Kevin Duckworth. Veteran Danny Ainge and young Cliff Robinson off the bench. And a very good coach in Adelman. So, so close.

[nbacardDOTnet]

I don't think Porter was under rated while he was playing though. He and Drexler were considered the best or second best (behind Isiah and Joe) back court in the league. Porter made at least one all-star game, a few I think. He falls into that second tier of point guards though along with Mark Jackson, Guy Rodgers, Kevin Porter, Rod Strickland, Sam Cassell etc. Guys who were good but will not be remembered the same way as the perennial all-stars and champions as time goes on.

Those Blazer teams were great though...Drexler and Porter Buck Williams and Jerome Kersey. Kevin Duckworth. Veteran Danny Ainge and young Cliff Robinson off the bench. And a very good coach in Adelman. So, so close.

+1

Porter had never been underrated.

[HisJoeness]

People may disagree with me on this but Porter was the leader of those Blazer teams.

[Toizumi]

Pretty underrated. Up to this day even.

I bet that if you ask posters on this board for which player the Blazers retired #30, most would answer Sheed and not Porter (ans some player named Bobby Gross I don't know- dual number retirement).

Porter never put up mind boggling stats. He was just a steady leader and a solid player.

[jrong]

Pretty underrated. Up to this day even.

I bet that if you ask posters on this board for which player the Blazers retired #30, most would answer Sheed and not Porter (ans some player named Bobby Gross I don't know- dual number retirement).

Most of the posters on this board are probably like "Terry who?"....

[Glide2keva]

I liked Terry porter. He was tough and made the big shots when needed. Was always good for assists and making the right play.

[opps]

who?

[nbacardDOTnet]

Most of the posters on this board are probably like "Terry who?"....

:oldlol:


who?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbIYkZXH2hk#t=3m30s

Blazers # 30 = Terry Porter

[andgar923]

One of the few players I feared as a Bulls fan.

You knew he was gonna be smart and always come up with a big play on defense or offense. He's one of those old school players that was smart and crafty.

[FormerSunsFan]

that's the way basketball works sometimes. casual fans often remember the perceived leader of a team, especially if the team didn't win a championship. marketable tandems like stockton/malone, shaq/penny, & payton/kemp are often remembered but from the other finals losers of that time I think casual fans largely remember Magic, Drexler, Barkley, Ewing from their respective teams.

[Fatal9]

Underrated in that he's a top 10 PG of the last 20 years but won't get mentioned as such (I'd take him over Tim Hardaway for example but he's usually listed below him). In a playoff series where they were matching up, I'd take him over Stockton or KJ.

What a lot of people forget is how much he feasted on those guys in the early 90s. He was too big and strong for them to deal with him. Could use his strength to drive to the rim, but also shoot 3s at a 40% rate and drain pull up Js, all of which made him very difficult to guard. Wasn't the elite playmaker all those other PGs were but was solid. That '92 team got to the finals because Porter took them there. He destroyed Stockton in WCF, scored at will against him, even had a 41 point game where he took only 14 shots, then 34/5/7 on 16 shots a couple of games later, all while locking him down too. The round before that he abused KJ (26/6/8 on 54%). I'd compare his game to Billups (but better), great floor leader, was one of the few guys on those Blazer teams not afraid to take big shots (the other being Ainge) and like Billups could abuse CP3, Porter could go out and abuse any smaller PG he faced. Defensively he was smart, could even go out and guard 2s when asked (probably did the best job out of anyone on MJ in the '92 finals, especially in game 2 when he got switched on to him midway through the game).

[jrong]

Underrated in that he's a top 10 PG of the last 20 years but won't get mentioned as such (I'd take him over Tim Hardaway for example but he's usually listed below him). In a playoff series where they were matching up, I'd take him over Stockton or KJ.

What a lot of people forget is how much he feasted on those guys in the early 90s. He was too big and strong for them to deal with him. Could use his strength to drive to the rim, but also shoot 3s at a 40% rate and drain pull up Js, all of which made him very difficult to guard. Wasn't the elite playmaker all those other PGs were but was solid. That '92 team got to the finals because Porter took them there. He destroyed Stockton in WCF, scored at will against him, even had a 41 point game where he took only 14 shots, then 34/5/7 on 16 shots a couple of games later, all while locking him down too. The round before that he abused KJ (26/6/8 on 54%). I'd compare his game to Billups (but better), great floor leader, was one of the few guys on those Blazer teams not afraid to take big shots (the other being Ainge) and like Billups could abuse CP3, Porter could go out and abuse any smaller PG he faced. Defensively he was smart, could even go out and guard 2s when asked (probably did the best job out of anyone on MJ in the '92 finals, especially in game 2 when he got switched on to him midway through the game).

Bravo. This is exactly what I'm saying. This is why I consider him so underrated and Drexler overrated and why I compared him in the other thread to a Ron Harper with better stats rather than classifying him as an actual Jordan-Lite.

[HisJoeness]

You know what? Chauncey Billups is probably an evolutionary version of Porter. Porter was the better player but their games are pretty similar. Someone compare their stats.

[T_L_P]

Unnecessary bump.

Porter was my favourite Point Guard ever -- even though I only watched him when he was old.

He was a very good defender and shooter, clutch as hell, good leadership, and in his prime he was one of the best ball sharers ever. He is the quintessential underrated Point Guard along.

[JohnnySic]

You know what? Chauncey Billups is probably an evolutionary version of Porter. Porter was the better player but their games are pretty similar. Someone compare their stats.

Porter was Billups before Billups.

Porter and Buck Wiliams were the "glue guys" on that Blazers team. Clyde just got all the shine. At least until MJ killed him.

EDIT: oh nice 4 year bump.

[Lebron23]

Very underrated player. He outplayed a Prime John Stockston in the 1992 Western Conference Finals.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1992-nba-western-conference-finals-jazz-vs-trail-blazers.html

[houston]

billups>>>porter

[wally_world]

. He falls into that second tier of point guards though along with Mark Jackson, Guy Rodgers, Kevin Porter, Rod Strickland, Sam Cassell etc. Guys who were good but will not be remembered the same way as the perennial all-stars and champions as time goes on.
.

Exactly why he's underrated. He's better (by quite a bit) than all of those mentioned guys

[SyRyanYang]

Oh he's gonna be on somebody's all time ugliest list trust me.

[longhornfan1234]

Yep... very underrated player. He was a better half court player and leader than Drexler. He guarded MJ better than Drexler in '92 Finals.

[masonanddixon]

Not underrated at all. He was a great three point shooter and nothing else really. He was a better version of Jason Terry.

[90sgoat]

I think Porter could have done great things if Drexler had been Jordan.

[Bless Mathews]

Underrated in that he's a top 10 PG of the last 20 years but won't get mentioned as such (I'd take him over Tim Hardaway for example but he's usually listed below him). In a playoff series where they were matching up, I'd take him over Stockton or KJ.

What a lot of people forget is how much he feasted on those guys in the early 90s. He was too big and strong for them to deal with him. Could use his strength to drive to the rim, but also shoot 3s at a 40% rate and drain pull up Js, all of which made him very difficult to guard. Wasn't the elite playmaker all those other PGs were but was solid. That '92 team got to the finals because Porter took them there. He destroyed Stockton in WCF, scored at will against him, even had a 41 point game where he took only 14 shots, then 34/5/7 on 16 shots a couple of games later, all while locking him down too. The round before that he abused KJ (26/6/8 on 54%). I'd compare his game to Billups (but better), great floor leader, was one of the few guys on those Blazer teams not afraid to take big shots (the other being Ainge) and like Billups could abuse CP3, Porter could go out and abuse any smaller PG he faced. Defensively he was smart, could even go out and guard 2s when asked (probably did the best job out of anyone on MJ in the '92 finals, especially in game 2 when he got switched on to him midway through the game).

Over Tim hardaway?

You's a crack smoker.

You can't be serious.

[KnittingRyu]

Dude was a great player. His style was different, but I'd say he was about Tony Parker caliber.

[bizil]

You know what? Chauncey Billups is probably an evolutionary version of Porter. Porter was the better player but their games are pretty similar. Someone compare their stats.

Great comparison! The ONLY THING is I would take Billups over Porter peak wise. Billups was more stronger and had more takeover scoring ability. But in terms of EVOLUTION, that's a great comparison. With those kind of PG's, they really don't have any weaknesses. BUT the guys like a Magic, Isiah, Big O, Westbrook, and Curry have another gear to dominate a game. All five of those guys are/were alpha dog scorers.

But Porter was EASILY a top tier PG and a guy who could do pretty much anything (scoring, passing, defense) at a high level. Some HOF PG's (even though they are better players than Porter) can't make the same claim. So the NEXT BEST THING is to be AT LEAST well rounded in ALL AREAS! The guys like Porter and Billups fit the description to a tee!