Michael Porter Jr. was one of the biggest offseason transferees in the NBA. After helping the Denver Nuggets win the 2023 NBA title, he was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets this summer for Cam Johnson.
During the Nets‘ media day, Porter Jr. revealed that his poor performance in the 2025 NBA Playoffs was the reason why the Nuggets moved him. However, MPJ said he was only 20 percent healthy during the postseason because he could barely lift his shoulder due to injury.
Advertisement
“When I had that injury, they told me it’s a three or four-month injury, like you’re probably done for the playoffs. At that point, I didn’t feel like our team was deep enough to compete for a championship if I wasn’t out there as a decoy, but I was putting myself in harm’s way from the media, the fans who were seeing me struggle and see me not being able to perform. Eventually, I kinda got traded for it,” Michael exclaimed.
MPJ risked himself to play decoy in the playoffs
Things looked good for Porter Jr. early on as he followed up his 81-game 2023-24 campaign by starting all of 77 games played last season while putting up his highest scoring average since his sophomore season. However, Michael suffered a Grade 2 shoulder sprain in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the L.A. Clippers and was told he was going to be out for 4-6 weeks. However, MPJ insisted on playing through the pain.
Advertisement
After his scoring average dipped to 10.5 points per game in the Clippers’ series, he was a non-factor in Denver’s second-round showdown against eventual champions Oklahoma City. Still, he gutted it out and scored six points on 3-8 shooting in Game 7, where the Nuggets were blown out 125-93. Overall, Porter Jr. averaged a playoff career low of 9.1 points per game while shooting 39.2 percent from the field.
“It was a risk, but it was a risk I was willing to take and something I would do all over again,” he added. “I feel like, as an NBA player, we get paid a lot of money to sacrifice our bodies. And even if you’re not 100 percent, it’s the playoffs. So I kinda felt “What am I saving myself for?” even if I get scrutiny from people like “Go out there, risk it”, and if it happens again next year and I’m in the playoffs, I’m not 100 percent, I’m going out there, regardless.”
MPJ promises fireworks against his former team
And so Porter Jr. is now with the Nets, but in a bigger role than he would have gotten if he had stayed in Denver. He says everything happens for a reason, and this one allows him to prove himself, not just to the league and the fans but to the team that gave him away after he sacrificed it all for them. MPJ says the Nuggets have enough pieces to win it all again, but he’s going to give them hell when they meet on the basketball court.
Advertisement
“They can win another title. You got Joker, you got Jamal. They’re getting better. They got Cam Johnson, great player. They got Bruce back. Julian Strawther’s a year older. Peyton Watson, Christian Braun, yeah, they could definitely do it. But I do know, like when we play them, it’s going to be up, for sure. It’s gonna be fun. I’mma go at them dudes. I know they gonna go at me. It’s gonna be really fun because I wanna show them like, ‘Yo, I’m in a whole different role now in Brooklyn.’ When my shoulder’s healthy and I’m feeling good, like that’s going to be a fun game, for sure,”said Michael in another interview.
That revenge game will have to wait as the Nets don’t play the Nuggets until January 2026, where they play twice, the first of which is a home game on January 4th. Porter J. returns to Denver in a different uniform later that month, on January 29th, so mark your calendars now.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.