Michael Porter Jr. fondly reflected on the "What-Ifs" of his career, but he is happy that he remained resilient despite injury adversities.
On his way to the NBA, Michael Porter Jr. had bold visions for himself on what he would eventually become.
Michael Porter Jr.
Michael Porter Jr.
Michael Porter Jr.
MIN: 32.86
PTS: 25.48 (56.04%)
REB: 7.52
As: 3.28
ST: 0.88
BL: 0.16
TO: 2.32
GM: 25
But his life and young career took an unfortunate turn, prompting him to just survive and adapt to whatever he had in front.
"My expectation when I got drafted, I didn’t really know much about the injuries or how they would have an effect on my body, but my expectation was to be the best player in the NBA," Porter Jr. shared after a 27-point display to lead the Brooklyn Nets over his former Denver Nuggets team 127-115. "Injuries had its way with me, but I think determination and resilience has allowed me to be able to still carve out a pretty valuable space in the NBA and play a lot of years.
"I think that that was my expectation because I knew what I was capable of."
Porter Jr. emerged as the consensus No. 1 high school basketball player in the Class of 2017. He was frequently compared to Kevin Durant with his incredible combination of length, elite shooting, ball-handling skills and athleticism.
But in his first collegiate season in Missouri, Porter Jr. suffered from a lower back injury that required surgery. From being touted as the potential top overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, he fell to No. 14 wherein the Nuggets chose him despite risks after another back surgery that moved his rookie season to 2019-20.
In Denver, while managing his health, Porter Jr. had to take the backseat behind Jamal Murray and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. For six seasons, he mainly played as a quality contributor instead of a go-to scorer.
Although he struggled again with injury issues and underwent his third back surgery in 2021, Porter Jr. still thrived in his role and was an instrumental piece to the Nuggets' first-ever NBA title in 2023. Since then, he has remained healthy and available for Denver, logging more than 77 games in each of the last two regular seasons.
As he is currently on a new chapter in Brooklyn, Porter Jr. is trying to make the most out of his meteoric rise. He is drawing an All-Star favor, averaging career highs of 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists this season.
But right now, he couldn't be more ecstatic about how he remained resilient and dedicated to his grinding process leading to this point.
"I played against really good players my whole life, so what I’m doing now, it’s not a shock to me," he added. "I think that doing it in the way that I’m doing it post-injury, that’s a little bit more what I’m proud of than just what I’m doing, because it’s not a surprise, but I have been through a lot in my career. It does take a lot of hard work to stay resilient, to stay available, and to try to be just available for most games considering the injury history.
"I feel good, and I’m grateful that I get to play the game I love after everything."
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