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A fresh start in New York is giving Porter the freedom to finally play like the star he was always meant to be.
The Talent Was Never the Issue
Michael Porter Jr. entered the NBA with a résumé that screamed future superstar. He was a top-ranked high school prospect, projected ahead of names like Luka Dončić and Deandre Ayton. But then came the injuries, the surgeries, and the years in Denver playing second fiddle—or more accurately, fourth fiddle—to a loaded Nuggets core.
The skill? Still there. The fit? That was murkier. Porter often looked like a square peg in a round offense, relegated to catch-and-shoot duty while Nikola Jokić ran the show. For all his gifts, he rarely had room to prove he could do more than stand in the corner and wait.
That’s no longer the case in Brooklyn.
A Brooklyn Breakout
Over the past three games, Porter has gone nuclear: three straight 30-point performances, each featuring five or more threes and five-plus boards. It’s the first time any player has done that in Nets history, and it doesn’t feel like a fluke. These aren’t desperation heat checks—this is efficient, well-designed scoring.
The Nets have handed him a bigger role, and he’s responded by playing the cleanest, most confident basketball of his career. For a franchise still trying to find its footing post-Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Porter has unexpectedly emerged as one of the few reasons to tune in.
Denver Never Gave Him the Keys
To be fair to the Nuggets, they were chasing titles. They needed glue guys and floor spacers around Jokić, and Porter—despite his scoring upside—was boxed into that role. When his name came up in trade talks, it wasn’t shocking. His contract was massive, the fit was clunky, and his playstyle often rubbed fans the wrong way.
The “never passes” jokes followed him like a bad nickname. So when Denver shipped him to Brooklyn for Cam Johnson, it felt more like a reset button than a basketball gamble.
But the Nets weren’t just looking for salary relief. They saw what Porter could still be: a dynamic, 6’10” scorer with serious upside.
Jordi Fernandez Is Unlocking Him
A huge part of Porter’s resurgence is the system around him—and the man running it. Head coach Jordi Fernandez has quietly become one of the best things Brooklyn has going. He’s built an offense that suits Porter’s strengths instead of asking him to compromise them.
Gone are the static spot-ups and corner purgatory. In their place? Early-clock isolations, pindowns, ghost screens, and plenty of movement. Porter is catching the ball in rhythm, often with a mismatch or just enough daylight to get off his high-arcing jumper. It’s working.
And Porter’s loving it. He’s called Fernandez a “genius,” and the film backs that up. This is the kind of tailored usage star players thrive in—and for once, Porter is the star.
Still Work to Do, But the Ceiling Is Real
This stretch doesn’t erase the past. Porter still has to show he can stay healthy, defend with consistency, and stay engaged when the shots aren’t falling. But for the first time in years, he’s getting the kind of opportunity that could rewrite his narrative.
And in a season where Brooklyn has often looked directionless, Porter is offering something rare: hope. A high-variance scorer entering his prime, finally being used like one.
For all the years he spent adjusting to other stars, it’s starting to look like the Nets may have found one of their own.
