Mizzou’s Jontay Porter has ACL surgery, says he was on court against doctor’s orders

Roughly 72 hours after The Star reported that Missouri forward Jontay Porter re-tore his right ACL, the 6-foot-10 sophomore said he has had surgery to repair the knee ligament.

Porter, in a social media post, also said he re-injured his knee while on the court before doctors cleared him to do so.

“In all honesty, I was impatient and completely naive to think that I was ready to get back on the court and play before I was cleared to,” he said in the post. “Word to the wise—never disobey doctor’s orders!”

Porter originally tore knee ligaments in November during a closed scrimmage against Southern Illinois. Absent from the sidelines for most of his sophomore season, Porter was in Denver rehabbing his knee when the latest ACL tear occurred on the court. The injury did not occur while Porter was working with his rehab doctors.

He’s no stranger to multiple ACL tears as his oldest sister, Bri, medically retired in 2016 from the MU women’s team after having five ACL tears. Porter’s second-oldest sister, Cierra, just finished her career with the women’s team after having her own knee issues throughout her career, which included a brief medical retirement.

Originally a projected first-round pick in June’s NBA Draft, Porter’s draft stock is now unknown. He won’t be able to participate in drills at the NBA Draft Combine in May, and likely won’t be cleared to see the court until the end of the year.

NBA teams put a lot of stock in potential, which Porter still has as a modern big man who can stretch the floor, stuff the stat sheet and shoot beyond the three-point line. Even in a weak draft class, he can still get taken, but likely in the second round, which doesn’t have guaranteed contracts beyond the No. 40 overall pick.

Porter could return to Missouri for his junior season, but he wouldn’t be able to suit up for the Tigers until conference play starts. Given that Porter passed up being a first-round pick last year to return to Missouri, the thought of him risking another injury after two ACL tears in less than six months seems unlikely. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NBA Draft is April 21.