Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. will be heading into a 2025-26 NBA season in which he will be in a new situation while living in a new city. Porter, whom Brooklyn acquired from the Denver Nuggets this summer via trade, is expected to be one of the best players on the roster and it seems that significant contributions are expected from him moving forward.
“We’re about to find out just how important playing alongside Nikola Jokic was to Porter Jr.’s career,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne wrote when explaining Porter’s ranking on the media giant’s top-100 list. Porter, who is ranked by ESPN as the 70th-best player in the league, will be playing with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray as his teammates for the first time in eight-year career. Porter’s potential in Brooklyn is interesting.
“The 6-10 forward played a key role for the Nuggets as a floor spacer next to Jokic and was remarkably durable, playing through injuries like he did in the playoffs with a separated shoulder,” Shelburne continued. “But Porter always believed he was capable of more playmaking and shot creating, if given the opportunity, and it looks like he’s going to get that chance with the rebuilding Nets after being traded in the offseason.”
Porter, 27, is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 50.4% from the field and 39.5% from three-point land. Porter’s ability to score the basketball in general is his greatest skill, but it should be mentioned that the former Missouri Tiger will also be needed to spread the floor for head coach Jordi Fernandez’s offense through his shooting.
Porter should be able to provide elite outside shooting at the very least given that he’s had the second-best catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage among 1,000-plus attempts over the past three seasons, according to ESPN. The only player that has been better than Porter in catch-and-shoot situations in that timespan is Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, considered by many to be the best shooter in NBA history.