Kevin Porter Jr. only knew his father for the first four years of his life, which leads one to think that he might not have too many memories of the man whose name he shares. But that hasn’t stopped the Cleveland Cavaliers forward from honoring him throughout his life.

Raised by his mother in Seattle, Kevin Porter Jr. has always taken pride in having the same name as his father, which is actually Bryan Kevin Porter, and has always been quick to correct anyone who leaves the “Jr.” part out of his name. Porter Sr. was a fantastic athlete in his own right and played football, baseball, and basketball at Rainier Beach High School, the same school his son would later attend, and was actually teammates with Jamal Crawford, who is just one of numerous NBA players to come out of the school, a list that obviously includes Kevin Porter Jr.

Those that knew him say that Porter Sr. was a talented player who simply allowed himself to get caught up in life on the streets of Seattle. At the young age of 19, the same age Kevin Porter Jr. was when he was drafted into the NBA, Porter Sr. was charged with first-degree murder.

Kevin Porter Jr.’s father spent more than four years in prison and was killed in a bar fight in 2004

In August 1993, just 15 months after Kevin Porter Jr.’s oldest sister, Keayanna, was born, Kevin Porter Sr. was charged with the first-degree murder of a 14-year-old girl. The only witness to the incident initially told police that Porter Sr. was in his car with the girl, pointed a gun at her, told her he was going to shoot her, and then pulled the trigger.

However, the witness, who was the girl’s friend, later recanted her statement that the shooting was intentional. Porter Sr. had said that the young woman had asked to see his semiautomatic weapon, which was loaded and cocked, and it accidentally discharged while he was handing it to her. Porter Sr.’s attorney said the witness had been pressured to say the things she did by the family of the young woman who was killed. Porter Sr. pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

In the years following his release, Porter Sr. and Ayanna had two more children, the youngest being Kevin Porter Jr., who was born in May 2000. Ayanna Porter told the Los Angeles Times that Porter Sr. was ecstatic to have a boy after having two daughters and that father and son spent a ton of time together.

Tragically, in July 2004, Porter Sr. was shot five times in a Seattle bar and died. He was allegedly trying to help a friend in trouble when an altercation broke out.

Junior wears No. 4 to honor his late father

When his father was killed, Kevin Porter Jr. did not attend the funeral, a decision made by his mother as she didn’t want that to be the lasting memory for her son. Instead, Jr.’s mind focused on stories of his father’s athleticism and how he wanted to be just like him. He wanted to play basketball at Rainier Beach High (which his mother was against), and he did, even playing for the same coach.

He wears No. 4 to honor his father, who, as mentioned, was killed when Porter Jr. was four years old.

Porter Jr. was the top-ranked player from the state of Washington in 2018 and then played one season at USC before declaring for the NBA draft. He was taken with the 30th overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks and was then traded to the Detroit Pistons, who dealt him to the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a rookie, Kevin Porter Jr. averaged 10 points in 50 games and made three starts.

But his second season with the team might be in jeopardy as he’s now facing legal trouble of his own.

Kevin Porter Jr. is now facing legal trouble of his own

On November 15, 2020, Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested following a single-car wreck in Mahoning County (OH) when police allegedly found a loaded handgun and what appeared to be marijuana in his vehicle. He’s facing multiple charges, including felony improper handling of a firearm inside a motor vehicle.

Just two days later, TMZ Sports obtained police reports alleging that Kevin Porter Jr. punched a woman in the face during an altercation in August that also involved his sister and two other women. The two alleged victims claimed that Porter Jr.’s sister was the initial attacker in the incident and punched one of the women in the face. They claimed Porter Jr. then jumped in and got involved himself:

“At this time, Mr. Porter threw his drink in the face of [an alleged victim] and then ripped the wig off her head and then punched her in the left side of her face causing slight swelling visible at the time of this report.”

Porter Jr.’s attorney denied the allegations, and at the time of this writing, no charges had been filed.