Before his third season officially got underway, Craig Porter Jr. told ClutchPoints that there was much more he could bring to the table for the Cleveland Cavaliers: “It's all up to me, and that's good to know.”
Just nine days into the 2025-26 campaign with the wine and gold, Porter has excelled in what the Cavs have asked of him as a defensive stalwart and high-octane game-changer.
According to Cleaning the Glass, 20.8% of opponent possessions are ending in turnovers with Porter on the floor; that ranks in the 97th percentile among other lineups in the NBA. Furthermore, Cleveland's foes have only a 12.9 free-throw rate per 100 possessions, a mark that is among the top five-man units in the league.
“Oh, man, he's just been really active,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said pregame Monday in Detroit of his effort against the Milwaukee Bucks. “Deflections, steals, picking up full court when he can. I thought it really helped flip the game a little bit, his energy. He's got really good anticipation on defense. As soon as the guy picks it up, he gets high hands, gets deflections. He's committed to being in elite, elite shape, probably the best of his career. I know that's helping him too.”
That Sunday evening, Porter's contributions forced Donovan Mitchell to go out of his way in praise of the third-year guard at the start of his interview.
“Changed the entire basketball game,” Mitchell said. “That was big time for him to come out there, do what he did on the defensive end. My favorite play was the three he missed after the steal in that corner. Just for him to continue to be that pest, to figure things out, like, that was a big game for him.”
“His athleticism is very sneaky, so when you put him on guards, for him to disrupt them how he did this game was great,” Evan Mobley added following the home-opening victory over the Bucks. “And we need him to do that as much as possible.”
The very next night, Mitchell repeated himself after a lopsided victory over the Pistons, a contest in which Jarrett Allen noticed Porter's intensity out of the gate.
“I think that just comes with experience being in this league,” Allen said after the road win. “Kenny has challenged him at the beginning of this year to be able to be more aggressive on the defensive end. He's took that to heart. He's picking up people, full court, he's in the passing lanes. 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 buying into their roles, while CP and JT open up on the positive impact they’ve had on the #Cavs thus far. pic.twitter.com/mbHTfCtNK4
— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) October 28, 2025
For nearly a whole quarter of game time between the middle of the first quarter and halfway through the second, the Cavs held the Pistons without a field goal and forced an abundance of turnovers. Porter and Jaylon Tyson were both on the floor for the stretch that ran Detroit out of its own building. To Mitchell, that set the tone and gave Cleveland life.
“That's the level we're trying to get to,” Mitchell said. “I've been on their a** to do all the little things. Kenny has as well. And I think it's been four times they've messed with the inbounder in the past three games, four games. That wins playoff games. And these guys are doing that at the highest level. They're boxing out, they're doing little things. Yeah, they're making mistakes, cool, whatever. But they're doing everything we asked in these four games with guys being hurt.”
“It just shows that guy needs to be on the court, 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 affect the game and help win is the biggest part.”
As of Friday, Porter has the fifth-most total deflections (15) among players who have played fewer than 90 minutes. It also ranks fourth on the Cavs behind Allen, Mobley, and Mitchell. Ball pressure has been a significant point of emphasis, and he's been rewarded with more playing time because of the job he's done.
“Anytime we can give any of these guys a break and just pick up somebody full and disrupt the game and completely change it like we have is big for us,” Porter said.
Craig Porter Jr. plays hard on one end, gets rewarded on the Cavs' other end
Porter's impact on the defense has also brought forth success on offense. The Cavs have scored 126.1 points per 100 possessions with a 60.2% effective field goal percentage and 33.3% offensive-rebounding rate when Porter's been out there, per Cleaning the Glass.
“I feel like it makes it easier for me and others because a lot of times we're getting stops,” Porter said. “We don't have to worry about bringing the ball up slow, having to go against a set defense. So we're getting a lot of stops and playing easily and playing into flow offense, not having 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 he and Tyson have plenty of room to grow on the offensive side, particularly with taking and making shots from deep, just being confident.
“It sounds small, but it's a big thing from both of us, being 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 that those long summer days in the gym are paying off for both of them: “It just makes you want to work even harder and keep doing the little things that matter because I feel like that's the thing that's gonna matter later in the season.”
“They put the work in for it, and I won't stop raving about them because I told both of them, ‘I'm going to be on y'all,' whatever it is, film, on the bench, during the game,” Mitchell said. “And they've responded to the call.”
