Michael Porter Jr.
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Chicago Bulls tried packaging Zach LaVine for MPJ last season
Michael Porter Jr. isn’t the first, and won’t the last, player to have their career marred by what-ifs. The seventh-year NBA veteran, who is in his first season with the Brooklyn Nets after six years and an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets, reflected on his career after a 27-point performance in a 127-115 win over his old team on Sunday.
“My expectation was to be the best player in the NBA,” Porter Jr. said to reporters after the game. “Injuries had their way with me, but I think determination and resilience have allowed me to carve out a pretty valuable space in the NBA.”
Porter Jr. is having a career season, averaging a personal best 25.8 points per game for the Nets. That’s a roughly 42% increase from the 18.2 mark he recorded last season with the Nuggets.
“What I’m doing now is not a shock to me” Porter Jr. said. “Doing it post-injury is what I’m proud of.”
A Look Back at Michael Porter Jr.’s Career
GettyBrooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. dribbles the ball. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Porter Jr. was selected 14th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft after appearing in just three games at the University of Missouri due to a back injury. He missed his entire rookie season (2018–19) while rehabbing and did not make his NBA debut until October 2019.
From 2019–20 through 2023–24, Porter Jr. played six seasons with the Denver Nuggets. Over that span, he appeared in more than 300 regular-season games, starting the majority of them after his second season. During his Nuggets tenure, he averaged approximately 16 points and 7 rebounds per game while shooting just under 50% from the field and over 40% from three-point range.
Porter Jr.’s most statistically productive season in Denver came in 2020–21, when he averaged 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game across 61 appearances. That season, he ranked among the league leaders in three-point shooting percentage (44.5%) among high-volume shooters and recorded 22 games with at least 20 points.
Injuries limited his availability in subsequent seasons. He appeared in only nine games during the 2021–22 campaign due to a recurring back issue that required surgery. He returned the following year and played 62 regular-season games in 2022–23, averaging 17.4 points per game while starting every appearance.
During the Nuggets’ 2023 postseason run, Porter Jr. appeared in all 20 playoff games as Denver won its first NBA championship. He averaged 13.4 points and 8.1 rebounds during the playoffs and recorded three double-doubles in the NBA Finals.
In his first season with the Brooklyn Nets, Porter Jr. has taken on a larger offensive role. His current scoring average of 25.8 points per game represents the highest mark of his career and places him among the league’s top scorers this season. He has already recorded multiple 30-point performances and is averaging career highs in both usage rate and field-goal attempts.
The Nets (11-22) are currently in 13th place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings, four games behind the 17-20 Atlanta Hawks for the last spot in the NBA playoffs play-in spot. They are 14 games behind the first place Detroit Pistons. The win over the Nuggets snapped a three-game losing streak.