A former NBA center who’s been banned from the league and by far the best team in the brand-new United States Basketball League this season will visit West Valley High School on Thursday and Friday night.
Yakima Heat coach Nikhil Lizotte knows his team will face a significant challenge in stopping Seattle Superhawks star Jontay Porter, the former Toronto Raptors center whom the NBA banned for life after he got caught violating the league’s gambling policies and later pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy crime in 2024. But Lizotte’s also wary of focusing too much on Porter and allowing his teammates to find open layups via backdoor cuts or other easy opportunities against a distracted defense, as they’ve done often in nine straight wins to start this season.
“It’s really tough because he’s so skilled and he’s a very good passer,” Lizotte said. “He can score, obviously. He can obviously rebound very well.”
The 6-foot-10 former Missouri standout finished his high school career by winning a class 3A state championship at Seattle’s Nathan Hale alongside his brother, Michael Porter Jr., in 2017 and originally committed to play at Washington. In the first season of the USBL, he’s putting up numbers reminiscent of when Yakima’s MarJon Beauchamp played in the NWAC for a shortened season during the pandemic — averaging 27.2 points, 18.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 4.5 blocks per game for Seattle.
Porter’s still awaiting sentencing for his crimes, which could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. A federal judge denied his request to play pro basketball in Greece in early 2025.
Only one team has gotten within 10 points of the Superhawks, who lead the league by two full games. Yakima lost 128-93 in their first meeting at Seattle Pacific late last month.
However, Lizotte’s expecting a stronger group thanks to former Central Washington standout Samaad Hector and former YVC leading scorer Javonte Darrett, both of whom missed that game due to injury. The Heat also bring more local flavor with Davis graduates D’Taye Joe, Curtis Kelley and Connor Kelley.
Lizotte, the sixth man as a freshman on the Pirates’ 2012 state championship team, even came out of retirement briefly to give Yakima some perimeter help. He doesn’t expect to play Thursday as the Heat try to keep a two-game home winning streak alive.
Tipoff’s set for 7 p.m. both nights and Yakima will play a third home game Saturday against the Salem Capitals, who have won two of three games against the Heat this season. Yakima’s sitting in sixth place out of eight teams, all of which will make the playoffs.