Porter savors his NBA debut: “This is my dream come true”
PORTLAND, ORE.» Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. always wondered what his first NBA basket would look like.
As it turned out, after a first half Tuesday night where Porter waited nervously for his name to get called, the gifted scorer wasn’t entirely comfortable when the moment was on his fingertips.
“I kept playing with the ball because I couldn’t get a feel for it,” Porter said after making his professional debut in Denver’s preseason opener in Portland. “I was going to make a move before I did, but the ball was feeling weird, so then I just dribbled again and then did a sidestep.”
There was nothing amiss with his silky step-back jumper over Blazers 7-foot center Zach Collins after he’d finally checked in midway through the third quarter. Porter had several of those moments in Tuesday’s exhibition that helped validate some of the hype that had trickled out of Nuggets’ second-floor practice gym this summer.
A few minutes later, he went right at Blazers rookie Nassir Little, whose 6-foot-6 frame was helpless against Porter’s sky-high release point. As Porter trotted back on defense, emboldened by his shot making, he couldn’t help but say something in the direction of the Blazers’ bench.
“It was all fun and games, like I know a few of those dudes,” said Porter, who finished with nine points on seven shots, and three rebounds. “I think somebody said something.”
Porter had his moments where he looked like a dangerous small forward weapon the Nuggets can slot in alongside all-NBA center Nikola Jokic and rising star Jamal Murray, but he also looked like someone searching for a defined role. Used to having the ball in his hands all throughout high school, Porter’s adjustment to playing off the ball and cutting hard through the lane represent his biggest offensive challenges. In addition, he’ll also be battling Torrey Craig, Will Barton, and Juancho Hernangomez for minutes.
On defense, he isn’t close to understanding his responsibilities.
“He’s very gifted offensively,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I’ll watch the film, but my biggest takeaway is that he’s got to give the defensive end just as much attention to detail as he does the offensive end. He’s a gifted scorer. He can take and make big, big shots and tough shots, but he’s got to be locked in on the defensive end.”
Fortunately for the Nuggets, he seemed genuinely excited to dig into the film and look at his miscues.
“Nikola was already talking to me,” Porter said. “When I get inside, people collapse on me, so just looking. I’m going to be such a better player playing with Nikola because not only is he going to find me, but he’s going to teach me how to, when I attract a crowd, find people.”
Porter’s teammates know the struggle he’s been through over the last 19 months while rehabbing and were thrilled see his debut first hand. After he sunk his first basket, the bench erupted in celebration.
“He’s meant to play basketball, he’s meant to do this and God’s got him,” said Monte Morris, who’s been something of a mentor to Porter. “Just go out there and do what you’ve been doing all your life.
“People don’t really know how good he really is,” Morris continued. “This is him with injuries, and he’s still phenomenal. I’d hate to have seen him two, three years ago when there weren’t any injuries.”
Porter’s parents, Lisa and Michael Sr., were in attendance, along with his sister, Cierra, to document the night with her camera.
After the game, deep inside the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, Porter’s relief was palpable. He was happy that his long-awaited debut went well, but he was over the novelty of it.
“Man, this is just a blessing,” he said. “I just need to enjoy this and be proud of myself, this is my dream come true to get out there and be an NBA player.”