Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr.’s alleged assault of former Indiana Fever guard Kysre Gondrezick left her with a fractured neck vertebra and a cut above her right eye, prosecutors revealed Tuesday.
Gondrezick and Porter, her boyfriend, were staying at a hotel in New York City for Fashion Week. Porter returned to their room early Monday morning, but Gondrezick, upset with his late return, locked the door. After Porter gained entry to the room with help from hotel security, he assaulted Gondrezick, ABC News reported.
Porter, 23, was arrested Monday morning. While he was released Tuesday on $75,000 bail, he has been ordered to stay away from Gondrezick. He has pled not guilty to felony assault and strangulation charges.
The No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft, Gondrezick, 27, played 19 games for the Indiana Fever in 2021. She was waived ahead of the 2022 season, and she has not played the last two seasons.
Porter, the No. 30 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of USC, has played with Houston for the last three seasons.
“We are in the process of gathering information surrounding the matter involving Kevin Porter Jr.,” the Rockets said in a statement Monday. “We have no further comment at this time.” The NBA issued a similar statement.
Porter was traded to Houston from the Cleveland Cavaliers after a locker room outburst in January 2021, the last in a series of issues during his time with the Cavaliers. Porter was suspended for one game as a rookie for making contact with an official, and then was arrested during the 2020 offseason for improper handling of a firearm.
Kysre Gondrezick has signed a training camp contract with the Chicago Sky, according to Winsidr’s Rachel Galligan.
The former No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft, Gondrezick was waived by the Indiana Fever in mid-January. She played 19 games during her rookie season for the Fever, averaging 1.9 points in 9.1 minutes. She played in her last game with the team on July 11 before going on personal leave. She later revealed the break was for her mental health.
A graduate for West Virginia, Gondrezick was an All-Big 12 First Team selection as a senior, averaging 19.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
She joins a Chicago Sky team that has made some major additions in the offseason. The team re-signed Finals MVP Kahleah Copper on a multi-year deal and added 2019 Finals MVP Emma Meesseman.
The Indiana Fever have waived guard Kysre Gondrezick, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft.
Roster Update: We have waived guard Kysre Gondrezick.
— Indiana Fever ⛹️♀️🏀 (@IndianaFever) January 18, 2022
🔗 https://t.co/1bQzrn6rZs pic.twitter.com/HtKdYVOxEM
It’s the second consecutive season in which the team has waived its top draft pick. Lauren Cox, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft, was waived after just two seasons.
Indiana currently has the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft.
Gondrezick played 19 games during her rookie season, averaging 1.9 points in 9.1 minutes. She played in her last game with the Fever on July 11 before going on personal leave. She later revealed the break was for her mental health.
In November, Gondrezick explained in a Twitter post that after her father passed away in January 2021, she struggled and lost sight of “the fun in the game.”
“The pressure began to mount for what I considered my job as a facet of grieving,” she wrote. “I wasn’t present to the idea of efficiently knowing how to cope. I was so happy and proud of reaching one of my personal goals of playing in the WNBA, yet I lost sight of his presence, my focus, and ultimately, the fun in the game.”
She said she realized during the Olympic break that taking a step back was necessary so that she could seek help.
A graduate for West Virginia, Gondrezick was an All-Big 12 First Team selection as a senior, averaging 19.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Kysre Gondrezick is speaking out after she missed the second half of the WNBA season.
In a personal message on Twitter on Monday, Gondrezick revealed that, after her father passed away in early January at the age of 57, she struggled with her mental health and lost sight of “the fun in the game.”
“The pressure began to mount for what I considered my job as a facet of grieving,” she wrote. “I wasn’t present to the idea of efficiently knowing how to cope. I was so happy and proud of reaching one of my personal goals of playing in the WNBA, yet I lost sight of his presence, my focus, and ultimately, the fun in the game.”
— Kysre Gondrezick (@KysreRae) November 22, 2021
The Indiana Fever selected Gondrezick fourth overall in the 2021 WNBA Draft. She played in 19 games during her rookie season, averaging 1.9 points in 9.1 minutes. Her last game with the Fever came on July 11.
The guard realized during the Olympic break that she needed to take a step back in order to seek help for mental imbalances that she said “couldn’t allow me to find joy in rest and recovery.”
“Instead, I didn’t know how to be still, and I didn’t have enough strength to get up,” wrote the 24-year-old.
Gondrezick added that she immediately sought help and has worked on prioritizing her mental health over the past five months.
“I have done a lot of inner work with the understanding that the process will and forever continue,” she wrote. “Today, I am better as a person and am absolutely comfortable in my own skin. I have given myself grace in making my own choices, free of judgement and without guilt over what is best for me.
“Thank you to everyone for your support, thoughts and prayers. It has not gone unnoticed.”
The Fever finished last in the WNBA in 2021 with a record of 6-26, missing out on the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
In the biggest surprise in a draft we’ve seen since the Chicago Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky second overall, West Virginia guard Kysre Gondrezick was taken fourth overall by the Indiana Fever.
We have a feeling, however, that this draft pick might turn out a little bit better for the Fever.
While the team is undeniably OK in the backcourt, Gondrezick is a solid 3-point shooter and should be able to make an immediate impact from that standpoint. However, the fact that she plays the same position as the Fever’s best player, Kelsey Mitchell, also enables her to take some time to develop her game.
But that’s not all that the Fever saw in Gondrezick that led them to take her fourth overall.
She also had a stellar college career, establishing herself as one of the top players in the Big 12 as a senior. During the 2020-21 season she averaged 19.5 points per game and was a 2021 AP All-American Honorable Mention.
Fever GM Tamika Catchings also highlighted Gondrezick’s “championship mentality” as one of the reasons why they took her off the draft board so soon.
“We came into tonight really focused on we need scorers and we need championship-type caliber players in our organization,” Catchings said. “One of the qualities we really focused on was the championship mentality. That’s what she has.”
That and if her reaction is any indication of her now-commitment to the Fever, we’d say it was a pretty good pick.
this reaction is everything 😍@KysreRae x #FeverDraft pic.twitter.com/g4v4kQe9x5
— Indiana Fever ⛹️♀️🏀 (@IndianaFever) April 16, 2021
"I'm about to run through a wall."
— Indiana Fever ⛹️♀️🏀 (@IndianaFever) April 16, 2021
SAME, @KysreRae, SAME. 🔥#FeverDraft pic.twitter.com/qqQoOXLIw0
You can read more of Just Women’s Sports’ 2021 WNBA draft coverage here and here.