It continues to be a laborious season for the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA’s youngest team with an average age of 23.4. After losing to the Knicks at home at the Barclays Center on Monday by 113-100, the Nets were 3-14 heading into tomorrow’s game in Brooklyn versus the Philadelphia 76ers.
By most measures, 27-year-old Michael Porter Jr. is a young man. But on the Nets, the seven-year NBA veteran is an elder. His role on a squad with five rookies, three 19-year-olds, a 20-year-old, and a 21-year-old, is to be an anchor as they navigate the challenges of playing against the world’s best on a nightly basis, travel, and the mental demands of the NBA lifestyle, and taking care of their bodies.
After winning a championship in 2023 with the Denver Nuggets as a starter, the Nets, in a clear rebuilding mode, acquired Porter Jr. from the Nuggets last July along with a 2032 unprotected first-round draft pick in exchange for swingman Cameron Johnson. Which team got the better of the deal can’t be assessed by the players’ individual stats alone because the Nuggets are 13-4 and have the second-best record in the Western Conference behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, which were 17-1 before facing the Minnesota Timberwolves last night.
Porter Jr. has been the Nets’ number one option on offense with guard Cam Thomas out since November 5 with a left hamstring strain. The 6-10 forward is averaging 24.8 points per game and 7.6 rebounds, and was one point shy of a season-high in the team’s NBA Cup road victory over the Celtics last Friday, scoring 33, including 16 in the fourth quarter and 14 straight for Brooklyn late in the 113-105 win. Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez described Porter’s performance as “going into video-game mode.”
Conversely, Johnson is shooting a career-worst 33% from three-point range and averaging just 9.4 points in 27 minutes per game as a starter, though he did have one of the best games of the season on Monday, scoring 18 points in the Nuggets’ 125-115 win over the Grizzlies.
A supposed blemish on Porter’s early stint with the Nets, is the organization’s concerns with some of his podcast comments on topics such as dating and the WNBA, which could be construed as misogynistic and insensitive. Porter has also weighed in on the recent NBA gambling scandals. His younger brother, Jontay Porter, was banned for life from the NBA and its associated leagues in April of 2024 for taking part in a gambling scheme, including betting on the Toronto Raptors while he was a member of the team.
But those seeming missteps haven’t distracted Porter Jr. from becoming an increasingly valuable asset for the franchise.
Following the 76ers tomorrow, the Nets will play the Bucks in Milwaukee on Saturday and return to Brooklyn to host the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.