Michael Porter Jr. joked recently that he\u2019s become an NBA ironman, but it\u2019s not really a joke. In the last two and a third year, MPJ has missed a total of 12 games, six this season, five last season and one the year before that. Not all of have been due to injuries like the one he missed earlier this season to personal reasons.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s not spoken about so much is what it takes for the 27-year-old to get ready for each and every game he does play in \u2026 and excel! On Tuesday, Brian Lewis put it this way:<\/p>\n
The Nets forward isn\u2019t surprised with what he\u2019s doing. Only how.<\/p>\n
Doing it in the wake of potentially debilitating back woes and multiple surgeries, the same injuries and operations that ruined Ben Simmons. Doing it with foot drop, playing in the same brace that stroke victims wear to re-learn how to walk.<\/p>\n
So far, so good. Porter is averaging career highs in scoring (25.9) rebounding (7.6) and passing (3.4) whileshocking most pundits, fans, teammates and his head coach with his shot-making.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe makes open shots, he makes contested shots, and he makes impossible shots,\u201d said Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez, who was with Porter for four years in Denver as an assistant.<\/p>\n
However, Porter is not surprised. He remembers how he was the top high school player in the U.S. his junior and senior before he had three back surgeries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, my expectation when I got drafted \u2014 I didn\u2019t really know much about the injuries and how they would have affected my body \u2014 was to be the best player in the NBA,\u201d Porter said with his customary frankness. \u201cAnd injuries had its way with me. But I think determination and resilience has allowed me to be able to still carve out a pretty valuable space in the NBA and play a lot of years.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think that 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\u2019m doing now, it\u2019s not a shock to me. I think that doing it in the way that I\u2019m doing it post-injury, I think that\u2019s a little bit more what I\u2019m proud of, than just what I\u2019m doing, because it\u2019s not a surprise.\u201c<\/p>\n
While it may not be a surprise to MPJ, the Denver Nuggets head coach \u2014 and former assistant \u2014 David Adelman said Monday that the big advantage Porter brings to Brooklyn is that he\u2019s available.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael, we know how talented he is. I think the thing that he doesn\u2019t have enough credit for \u2014 I said it in the playoffs \u2014 is he plays,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the injuries he\u2019s had, I just don\u2019t think he gets enough credit for how tough he is. It\u2019s not the brand of his game, but it really is to see him day-in, day-out, maintenance himself so he can be available was the most impressive thing for me. Mike has this ability, he always has. But for us, he sacrificed. That\u2019s just the way it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lewis lays out just what Porter does before each game he suits up from Brooklyn and each game he\u2019s played since his third back surgery in 2021-22.<\/p>\n
It left Porter with nerve damage, specifically in his lower spine connected to the peroneal nerve. As a result, Porter still can\u2019t properly lift his left foot. Every single game, he\u2019s had to wear an ankle foot orthosis \u2014 or AFO \u2014 or risk tripping because the foot doesn\u2019t function properly.<\/p>\n
No other player in the NBA wears the AFO.<\/p>\n
Of course, there\u2019s always the possibility that MPG will not be a Brooklyn Net a month from now. However, while there have been multiple stories that other teams have expressed interest in Porter, there have been none in which Sean Marks & Co. are quoted as being interested. They are invariably described as \u201clistening.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Porter is likely to spend his time doing what he has done this year: surprise everyone but himself.<\/p>\n