Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr. Reveals Ankle Injury Was 'Worse Than I Thought'

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said the ankle sprain he suffered on Jan. 31 ended up being worse than he expected. 

The second-year player out of Missouri told Mike Singer of the Denver Post:

"I'm kind of using this time as beneficial to me, getting to rest that ankle. It was a pretty bad sprain, worse than I thought. It's been good to just be able to get my body back right and everything. ... I was playing through a lot of pain. Especially planting on it and cutting. That was tough for me. I felt like I needed to play, obviously."

Porter missed six games due to the injury before returning to action after the All-Star break, though his minutes were reduced before the league went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Porter is having a strong sophomore season after missing his entire rookie campaign, averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 42.2 percent from three. He was playing excellent basketball in January before the injury, averaging 12.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest.

That led to calls for Porter to get more minutes off Denver's bench, though the injury slowed his progress. But with the league suspended, Porter has had time to further rehabilitate his ankle and work on his game.

"I've literally been in the gym just as much as I was in Denver, which has been really good," he said. "I feel like I haven't really lost a lot. And it's been good for my ankle, too, because you know my ankle was still kind of sore."

Porter was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft but missed his rookie season while recovering from back surgery. He's undoubtedly an important future piece for the Nuggets and could even play a key role in the 2020 postseason assuming there is one.

For now, however, getting his ankle back to 100 percent is key.