‘Dedication to Craig Porter Jr. to be elite’ made him invaluable to the Cavs

Before its third season officially began, Craig Porter Jr. he told ClutchPoints that there is much more he could bring to the table for Cleveland Cavaliers: “Everything depends on me, and that’s good to know.”

Just nine days into the 2025-26 campaign with the Wine and Gold, Porter has excelled at what the Cavs have asked of him as a defensively tough, high-octane game changer.

According to Glass Cleaning, 20.8% of the opponent’s possession ends in a turnover with Porter on the floor; which is in the 97th percentile among other teams in the NBA. Furthermore, Cleveland’s opponents are only making 12.9 free throws per 100 possessions, a mark that ranks among the best five-man units in the league.

“Oh man, he’s just been very active,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said before Monday’s game in Detroit about his performance against the Milwaukee Bucks. “Rebounds, steals, getting full court when he can. I thought that really helped turn the game around a little bit, his energy. He’s got really good defensive anticipation. As soon as a guy picks him up, he’s getting high hands, he’s getting layups. He’s committed to being in elite, elite shape, which is probably the best of his career.”

That Sunday night, Porter’s contributions prompted Donovan Mitchell to go out of his way to praise the third-year guard early in the interview.

“He changed the whole game of basketball,” Mitchell said. “It was big time for him to come out, do what he did defensively. My favorite play was the three he missed after that steal in the corner. Just for him to continue to be that pest, figure things out, like it was a big game for him.”

“His athleticism is very sneaky, so when you put him in guard, it was great to disrupt them the way he did this game,” added Evan Mobley after the home win over the Bucks. “And we need him to do that as much as possible.”

The very next night, Mitchell repeated after an upset win over the Pistons, a contest in which Jarrett Allen noticed Porter’s intensity out of the gate.

“I think that comes with experience in this league,” Allen said after the road win. “Kenny challenged him early this year to be more aggressive defensively. He’s taken that to heart. Pick people up, full court, he’s a pass rusher. He’s trying to make it difficult for everybody.”

“That wins playoff games.”

Donovan Mitchell and Kenny Atkinson shout out Craig Porter Jr. and Jaylon Tyson for embracing their roles, while CP and JT open up about the positive impact they’ve had on #Cavs until now. pic.twitter.com/mbHTfCtNK4

— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) October 28, 2025

For nearly a quarter of a game between midway through the first quarter and midway through the second, the Cavs held the Pistons without a field goal and forced plenty of turnovers. Porter and Jaylon Tyson were both on the floor in the stretch Detroit kicked out of their own building. It set the tone for Mitchell and gave life to Cleveland.

“That’s the level we’re trying to get to,” Mitchell said. “I was on their side to do all the little things. Kenny too. And I think there’s been four times they’ve fumbled the inbounder in the last three games, four games. That wins the playoffs. And these guys do it at the highest level. They box out, they do the little things. Yeah, they’re cool, they make mistakes in all these games. guys are hurt.”

“It just goes to show that guy needs to be on the field, whether it’s me, whether it’s Jaylon,” Porter told ClutchPoints and Cleveland.com’s Ethan Sands in Detroit. “Just emphasizing those points and just understanding what our role is and how we can best impact the game and help win is the biggest part.”

from friday Porter has fifth in total deflections (15) among players who played less than 90 minutes. He also ranks fourth on the Cavs behind Allen, Mobley and Mitchell. Ball pressure was a significant emphasis and he was rewarded with more playing time for the work he did.

“Any time we give any of these guys a break and just pick up somebody full and disrupt the game and completely change it like we did, it’s big for us,” Porter said.

Craig Porter Jr. plays hard on one end, gets rewarded on the other end for the Cavs

Porter’s impact on defense has also brought success on offense. The Cavs scored 126.1 points per 100 possessions on 60.2% effective field goal percentage and 33.3% offensive rebounding rate when Porter was there, per Cleaning the Glass .

“I feel like it makes it easier for me and others because a lot of times we get the stop,” Porter said. “We don’t have to worry about getting the ball up slow, having to go against a defensive set. So we get a lot of stops and play easy and play offense, we don’t have to settle for a lot of things. So I feel like it just helps us control the game and understand the little spots that are open.”

Porter believes that he and Tyson has plenty of room to grow on the offensive endespecially when it comes to shooting and shooting depth shots, just with confidence.

“It sounds small, but it’s a big deal for both of us, being the younger guys, I guess, on this team,” Porter said.

Knowing the expanded responsibilities ahead, the two put in a tremendous amount of work this offseason to prepare. Porter is glad those long summer days in the gym are paying off for both of them: “It just makes you want to work harder and keep doing the little things that matter because I feel like that’s going to matter later in the season.”

“They went for it, and I’m not going to stop raving about them because I told both of them, ‘I’m going to be on everybody,’ whatever it is, film, on the bench, during the game,” Mitchell said. “And they answered the call.”