Michael Porter Jr. Reflects on NBA Journey, Recent Success With Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets have been on a bit of a different road compared to where critics and analysts had them at the start of the season. A team that was expected to be at the very bottom of the NBA standings has gone 8-6 in its last 14 games, ranking second in defensive rating (109.1) since Dec. 1.

Brooklyn is one of the league's best teams in terms of ball stoppage, but the offense has remained afloat as well. The Nets have been doing just enough on that end to pull out wins, and while Jordi Fernandez is coaching an outstanding defense, Michael Porter Jr. is the catalyst for the offense.

Most recently, Porter beat his former team in the Denver Nuggets, 127-115, and dropped 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. He's now averaging 25.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game on incredible 50-41-83 shooting splits.

Michael Porter Jr DESTROYS the Nuggets in his first game against them.

27 points
11 rebounds
5 assists
1 Blk pic.twitter.com/69OVv1nUi7
— NetsKingdom 👑🗽 (@NetsKingdomAJ) January 4, 2026

Despite the Nets' 11-22 record, the 27-year-old has a serious case to make his first All-Star appearance. He isn't putting up inflated stats; rather taking full advantage of more opportunities in Brooklyn and scoring on incredible efficiency. Not to mention, the former Nugget is putting up career-highs in rebounds and assists.

After the win, Porter compared where he expected to be heading into the 2018 NBA Draft to his time with the Nets this season. The 6-foot-10 has dealt with injuries since his lone collegiate season at Missouri, but has also been a massive contributor to title contenders in Denver, including the team that won the 2023 NBA Finals.

"My expectation was to be the best player in the NBA," Porter said, via Erik Slater of ClutchPoints. Injuries had their way with me, but I think determination and resilience have still allowed me to carve out a pretty valuable space in the NBA and play a lot of years.

But I think that was my expectation because I knew what I was capable of, and I played against really good players my whole life. So what I'm doing now is not a shock to me. I think that doing it in the way that I'm doing it post-injury, that's what I'm proud of."

Michael Porter Jr. said he expected to be the best player in the NBA when he got drafted, but he’s proud of the role he's carved out post-injuries:

“My expectation was to be the best player in the NBA. Injuries had their way with me, but I think determination and resilience have… pic.twitter.com/Yj2ZMdntGd
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) January 5, 2026

It certainly has been a tough road for Porter since entering college. Back injuries limited him to just three games at Missouri and cost him his entire rookie season (2018-19). There were some setbacks in his time as a Nugget, including just nine games played during the 2021-22 season.

But now, he has appeared in 185 of 197 regular-season games dating back to 2023-24, including 27 of 33 with the Nets. Porter's production has only increased with his availability.