Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. drew viral attention this summer for the wrong reasons, making a series of controversial comments on his podcast and during appearances on influencer streams.
As expected, both Porter and the team’s front office were asked to address the issue when Media Day opened Tuesday in Brooklyn.
“Those conversations that myself and a group have had with Michael will remain internal,” general manager Sean Marks said. “I think this is, as Jordi [Fernández] alluded to, a new environment for him, a new market, new expectations, new roles, both on the court and in the locker room for him. So, I think he’s finding his way. I think we’ll basically leave it at that. He knows where the organization stands on certain issues and topics, and this market is a little different from where he was.”
In a livestream with influencer PlaqueBoyMax, Porter said having either a “thot daughter” or a “gay son” would “hurt” him, comments that drew accusations of homophobia and misogyny. He also claimed a McDonald’s All-American boys’ team could beat WNBA All-Stars, sparking backlash for belittling women’s basketball.
Porter didn’t retract his remarks Tuesday but said he’s the WNBA’s “biggest fan,” pointing to two sisters who “beat [him] every single day at basketball” as kids. He added that launching a podcast was his way to share more of himself publicly.
“I think it’s important for players to be able to kind of have a say in their own narrative,” Porter said. “That was part of it. I’ve had a podcast for a while, so it’s nothing new… And obviously it took off a little bit and people paid attention to it, but there was nothing that really inspired it. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I got traded, now let me get on this podcast.’”
For now, the episode seems resolved internally, with the expectation that Porter takes lessons from it. After addressing the off-court chatter, the focus shifted to the season ahead, where the 27-year-old will be counted on to provide veteran leadership for a young, rebuilding Nets team.
No longer the spot-up option parked in Denver’s corners while Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray orchestrated their two-man game, Porter arrived in Brooklyn with greater expectations. After averaging 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 77 games last season, the 2023 NBA champion is being thrust into a featured role — and with that comes the pressure to expand his game.
“Me personally, I’m embracing that role as a leader, and having won at the highest level and played in the playoffs every year that I’ve been in the NBA, I think not just on the court, but also off the court, in the film sessions, I’ll be able to share some things with these young guys and hopefully it will kind of speed up the process for everybody,” Porter said.
Porter entered the NBA with the pedigree of a No. 2 national recruit, having served as the go-to scorer on nearly every team he played for. Denver offered a different reality, one where he thrived in a complementary role. Brooklyn poses a new test: tapping back into that alpha scoring presence while sharing the floor with Cam Thomas, the Nets’ top scorer a year ago.
Owed $79.6 million over the next two seasons, Porter has a window to show both the Nets and the league he’s worth the investment. How he fares could either push Brooklyn’s rebuild forward or shape the market for his next deal.
“You saw glimpses when Jamal would be out and I was asked to do a little bit more and I was capable of doing it, but I definitely think the harder thing will be going from that to this,” Porter said. “It’s going to take a whole new level of focus for me, another level of intentionality with my workouts and conditioning and my recovery as well. The load will be a lot different. There will be less standing in the corner for me… So, it’s going to take a level of being in shape that I probably have never been in.”
Brooklyn hasn’t decided where Porter fits in its long-term blueprint, but Marks likes the early signs. He pointed to Porter’s size and shooting as a natural match, while cautioning that training camp will ultimately reveal how his competitive spirit and personality blend with the team.
Porter’s existing relationship with Fernández, built during their time together in Denver, should help ease the transition. That familiarity gives him a sense of comfort as he adjusts to a new team and city.
“I look at that as being big for me, just coming to a new city, feeling a little bit of being overwhelmed, just to have a guy as a head coach that I worked with every day, someone like Jordi,” Porter said. “It’s good to see him in this role as a head coach, because you can tell this is where he belongs. Jordi as an assistant coach and Jordi as a head coach are the same dude, but the culture he’s trying to create here is really awesome and I’m really excited to play for him.”