B/R Exclusive: How Michael Porter Jr. Became a 'Top 10' NBA Shooter

The Denver Nuggets have the two-time reigning MVP in Nikola Jokic. Jamal Murray is back after a year and a half away with a torn ACL.

But competing for a title may depend on 24-year-old forward Michael Porter Jr.

When healthy, the 6'10" floor spacer (who's intent on being more than just that) is undoubtedly one of the best shooters in the world. And he knows it.

When asked if he's in that conversation, MPJ started conservatively.

"For sure," he told Bleacher Report after stepping out of a Nuggets weekend practice. "I'm definitely top...top 10."

The pause hinted at a bit of uncertainty, but not a lack of confidence. When pressed a bit, Porter moved himself up the ladder.

"There’s some good spot shooters," he said. "As far as all-around shooting, obviously [Stephen Curry], KIay [Thompson], really good shooters, me and Jamal."

"Heeeey!" his teammate exclaimed after overhearing the shoutout. "That's all I was waiting for, man."

With an assist to loosen him up from the point guard, Porter admitted that going with top 10 was him "trying to be humble."

That's probably easier to do when stats speak as loudly as MPJ's have.

With the picturesque form that leads to ultra-efficient numbers, it's easy think of Porter as an upsized Klay (at least on offense). And getting the kind of shooting he can provide from the frontcourt could give Denver one of the 2022-23 season's most dynamic attacks.

"Because the scouting is so deep, I think shooting, and being able to make tough shots, especially in the playoffs, is something we definitely need," Porter said. "Obviously, playing with Joker, he loves to thread the needle. And when he throws it to me in the corner, even if a guy is closing, he expects me to rise up and shoot. So, he’s learned my game."

Those Jokic dimes can come at any moment during a possession—often the least expected moments. And having a threat as dangerous as Porter available can only help the reigning MVP.

In 2020-21, Porter's last mostly healthy season, he averaged 19.0 points on 13.4 shots, hit 2.8 threes per game and shot 44.5 percent from three.

Stephen Curry, Joe Harris, Kyle Korver, JJ Redick and Duncan Robinson are the only players in league history with seasons in which they matched or exceeded both of those three-point shooting marks (2.8 makes per game and a 44.5 three-point percentage). Add in the 19.0 points as a third qualifier and the list narrows to just MPJ and Curry (who's done it twice).

Porter's catch-and-shoot three-point percentage was 46.5 (well clear of the league average of 37.8 on such shots) that season. His mark on pull-up threes was 36.5 (compared to a league average of 33.9).

Not enough to convince you of the shooting prowess? That same year, Porter was seventh in the league in total tightly contested three-point attempts, and Robinson was the only player in that top six who had a higher three-point percentage than MPJ's 36.9 on those shots.

"The size is a big thing," Porter said when asked about being able to convert on tough looks. "But you know how when guys get in the mid-range, a lot of guys shoot set shots from three, but when they get in the mid-range they elevate and shoot a jump shot? I don’t need a lot of space because I’m elevating."

A 6'10" forward with a high release and a true jump shot is just about unguardable. In 2020-21, only 2.9 percent of MPJ's shot attempts were blocked. Among the 396 players who took at least 100 shots that season, that mark ranked 349th (the lower the better with this stat).

We could go on and on. The numbers are ridiculous.

The problem, of course, is that they come from just a single 61-appearance campaign. His rookie marks are good, but the volume was much lower. We can pretty much scrap his nine games in 2021-22 because he played those with his compromised back that led to another surgery.

Since he was drafted in 2018, Porter has only played in 125 NBA games.

"I really believe this injury stuff with my back is behind me," Porter said when asked about his long-term goals. "I think I can be, you know, from the eye test, for sure one of the best shooters ever."

The eye test and the numbers agree on this front. Porter absolutely has the potential to be considered one of the best shooters we've ever seen. And if he's on the floor, that skill alone is a game-changer for Denver.

Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, the Nuggets are plus-8.3 points per 100 possessions when MPJ plays and plus-0.9 when he doesn't.

"I don’t want to be labeled like a shooter," he added. "I would rather be labeled as an all-around player, all-around scorer."

Mike Messer, Porter Jr.'s trainer, believes Porter has yet to show his full potential, but the path is clear for what's next in his development.

"Being more comfortable as someone who’s handling the basketball," Messer told B/R. "Late shot clock, the ball is kicked out, and you just need someone to go get a bucket. In those scenarios, in the past, Mike would be the first to tell you that, probably nine times out of 10, he’s going to raise up and just shoot a three over someone. And he’s going to make a lot of those. But also, those threes open up even more for him when he’s also a threat to drive in those scenarios a lot more.”

Messer and Porter are careful to coordinate those goals with the Nuggets coaching staff. They're not looking to frustrate the team's purpose for MPJ, but expanding his game should have a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats effect.

Up to now, Porter has scaled his game down in an effort to excel in his role and earn the trust to do more.

"I’ve always had the ball in my hands. When I was in high school, I had the ball in my hands all game. I’m the one coming off the screens. I’m the one dribbling. Whatever," Porter said. "When you get to the league, especially on a winning team, they may put you in a certain role, and it’s your job to be really, really good at that, and then you can start expanding your game from there as the team, the coaches, they trust you."

Self-awareness and a willingness to be a catch-and-shoot specialist have set a baseline for MPJ. Diligence helps him "sharpen" that tool in his kit, as Messer puts it.

"Michael does a shooting drill with me where he has to make 50 NBA threes while moving, without missing two shots in a row," Messer said. "He doesn’t leave the gym until he beats that drill.”

The two work together on ball-handling, disguising moves, post play, you name it. They've studied countless hours of film together. But they never ignore the shooting that made Porter a special player long before he joined the Nuggets.

“He comes from a hooper family,” Messer said of MPJ, whose mother, Lisa, is a former basketball player and whose father, Michael, is the director of player development for Missouri. “His mom and his dad have put so much time in with him. His dad, even to this day, he’s just a guy who has stressed fundamentals from an early age. He was adamant about, ‘Hey listen, Michael, you have a tall mom and a tall dad. You are probably going to be a very tall basketball player. But instead of putting all of your eggs in the basket of ‘I’ll just be taller than everyone else,’ let’s make sure, at a young age, that you are as fundamentally sound as anyone else.'”

Porter Sr. played for the now-defunct CBA's San Jose Jammers before joining Athletes in Action, an organization founded in 1966 that combined two of his passions: basketball and his Christian faith. There, he met his wife, who stands 6'4" and averaged 58 points per game in high school.

"Fifty-eight," Porter Sr. told B/R. "Shooting 72 percent from the field. Her junior year, she averaged 44 a game. So she stepped it up for her senior year.”

Porter Sr. said that both parents "had a hand" in their son's development as a basketball player, but he took the lead when MPJ was three years old.

He didn't want his son saddled with the debt that might come from college tuition. So, he bought an adjustable hoop and a smaller-than-regulation ball. He painted the proper hand positioning on the ball. He ensured that his son's elbow was under the ball when he shot. Bad habits didn't really stand a chance. And the work started paying off early.

“I had to quit playing him one-on-one when he was 12," Porter Sr. said. "He wasn’t super tall at that point, but he had gotten quick enough and was a good enough ball-handler and could get it off quick that I couldn’t give him space anymore. And when he almost beat me, I had to quit.”

Shortly thereafter, when MPJ was in eighth grade, his parents took him to a basketball camp run by the legendary John Lucas.

“I remember it like it was yesterday," Porter Sr. said. "They were going through some drills. There were probably 60 or 70 kids at this camp. I remember one of the guys that John had helping out, he was sending them through a one-on-one drill, and I remember him, looking up at John, ‘Hey John! This kid’s a pro right here!' And that was the first time I thought, ‘Huh, maybe I’m not wearing daddy goggles.’”

The father-son training didn't change much after that. Porter Sr. is all about the basics, so he simply continued to build on the foundation he and his wife had already started. Porter Jr. recalled one foundational approach that still has an impact to this day.

"When I was younger, I worked with my dad, and he wouldn’t let me move out until I got the right mechanics from mid-range. He wouldn’t let me shoot threes until I could do the same thing that I do from mid-range on threes. So, when I’m coming in transition and there may be someone right in front of me, I’m still going to shoot a jump shot."

Porter Sr. works with his son to this day, particularly in the offseason. He's argued the value of taking a day off to his son, but he can't keep him out of the gym.

"He just doesn’t like to take days off," Porter Sr. said. "He at least wants to go shoot. If not get a workout in, at least go shoot a little bit. He’s always had a high, high, high motor when it comes to the work.”

That's where the aforementioned baseline comes from. MPJ is an all-world shooter, and even if he stays there, Denver should be able to make some deep playoff runs.

Jokic and Murray have one of the most dangerous two-man games in the league. Flanking that with a 6'10", high-volume outside shooter will make those actions about as close to unstoppable as an offense can get.

But he isn't just helping them. There are significant reciprocal benefits that come from playing with those two, particularly Jokic, who general managers recently voted the best passer in the NBA.

The injuries and subsequent concerns that came from them nudged Porter to the end of the lottery in 2018, but it may have landed him exactly where he was supposed to be.

“From the very beginning, when he was drafted by them, and I started doing some research on the team and guys that they had, and getting to know [former President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly] and [current General Manger Calvin Booth], I was like, ‘Man, this was a blessing in disguise.’” Porter Sr. told B/R. “I think it’s a great fit for him.”

The injuries have limited MPJ's availability since the draft, but his lifelong trainer says, "He looks as good as he’s looked to me."

Of course, you may be looking for a grain of salt, since that endorsement is coming from a father, but Porter Sr. brought some evidence.

"Somebody posted on Twitter that was there," he said of a video that emerged from this year's training camp. "They were out there in San Diego with them. He got a pass and did a really quick sidestep corner three, and I was like, ‘OK. OK.’ Because it was quick. The quick twitch was there. The pop was there. He got up quickly on it. Everything was there. And I was like, ‘OK, he’s good. He’s good. He’s back.’”

Murray and Jokic should have the Nuggets competing for championships, but they can also help unlock the fully actualized version of Porter.

And that player, who brings some playmaking and off-the-dribble pop to otherworldly shooting, might make Denver the title favorite.

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Advanced statistics courtesy of NBA.com or Basketball Reference unless otherwise stated.