Porter: Pick me and Knicks would get ‘best player in draft’

CHICAGO — A day after he met with the Knicks, Michael Porter Jr. declared himself the greatest prospect.

“I know without a doubt — I’ve played against all these guys — but I’m the best player in this draft,” he said. “I just can’t wait to show what I’m capable of.”

Only a year ago, Porter was either No. 1 or No. 2 coming out of high school, interchanging in the rankings with Marvin Bagley III.

But then his lone college season was derailed by back surgery, and scouts don’t know what to make of him ahead of predraft workouts.

“There’s a wide range of where he could end up,” a Western Conference scout said Thursday. “From No. 3 to 10.”

So can he fall to the Knicks at No. 9? A lot will depend on Porter’s medical evaluations and workouts over the next months, when NBA teams will see how the 19-yearold recovered. On Thursday, the 6-10 forward was by far the most confident and engaging media interview among the two other top prospects in New York’s range — Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Michigan State’s Miles Bridges.

Porter also had a convincing story about his back surgery, which he underwent in November to alleviate herniated discs. He said the original injury occurred when he was a sophomore in high school when he was undercut on a dunk, and the pain steadily increased until Porter decided he needed the surgical fix as a freshman at Missouri.

Porter said Thursday it has him feeling better than ever.

“They had me as the No. 1 player in high school, but I didn’t even feel I was 100 percent,” he said. “And I do now. So now I’m excited to show everybody the player that I am, that I’m still the best player.”

His discussion with the Knicks on Wednesday likely included questions about his health, and Porter said he’s been cleared by his personal doctors.

He met with team president Steve Mills, GM Scott Perry and coach David Fizdale.

“It’d be awesome (to play for the Knicks),” he said. “I kind of asked them a couple questions: Where do you live in New York? Do you own a car?

“And they said a couple of guys live outside the city by the practice facility. So it was a great meeting.”

The Knicks also met with Sexton and Villanova’s Mikal Bridges on Wednesday. They’re slated to interview Miles Bridges and Oklahoma’s Trae Young on Friday.

The Knicks are prioritizing a forward in the draft.

“I just think if you got a super talent, you got a super talent. If the drop off from that talent to something that you need is big you’re probably not going to go with what you need,” Fizdale said. “You can get it later because the guy is so talented you can’t pass on it. It just depends on how good that guy is that you need. If he’s there, wait for him. If he’s not you’re probably going to go for who’s the best talent.”