Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. was arrested after attacking his girlfriend inside a midtown Manhattan hotel room, according to senior law enforcement officials.
Porter Jr. allegedly attacked the victim overnight Monday at the Millennium Hilton New York hotel near the United Nations on First Avenue. His girlfriend was taken to the hospital with at least one broken bone and bruising, law enforcement officials told NBC New York.
The alleged incident began after the pair had been out. She returned to the room and went to bed, but Porter Jr. got locked out, sources said, and the altercation escalated from there.
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Hotel security was called afterward and they alerted police, who got to the hotel before 7 a.m. Porter Jr. was charged with second-degree assault and strangulation.
He said nothing as he was led out of the police stationhouse Monday afternoon. He was expected to face a judge in the evening. Attorney information for the NBA player was not immediately clear.
In a statement, the Rockets said that they were "in the process of gathering information surrounding the matter," and said they had no further comment. The NBA said they were aware of the reports and were "in the process of gathering more information."
An investigation is ongoing.
NBA
Porter Jr. was a first-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2019, but was quickly traded to the Detroit Pistons, then again a week later to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 23-year-old debuted with the team in October later that year.
He was traded to the Rockets in January 2021. He was previously suspended by the team in 2022 for one game after a meltdown in front of an assistant coach during a loss.
Porter Jr. does have a previous arrest from November 2020, on gun and marijuana charges after a single-car crash. Those charges were later dropped.