Micheal Porter Jr. says NBA coronavirus hiatus is giving his ankle time to heal.
Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. said Thursday that the right ankle injury he suffered at Milwaukee on Jan. 31 was “worse than I thought” and that he was playing through pain when he did return after the All-Star break.
Porter called the NBA’s hiatus a blessing in disguise because of that. Once the NBA suspended its season more than three weeks ago, Porter, now back home in Columbia, Mo., said he’s spent significant time in the gym working on his game. He said the time off has also allowed for his ankle to properly heal.
Porter, who spent one season at Missouri, said he’s got a private gym that he can access whenever he wants.
“I’ve literally been in the gym just as much as I was in Denver, which has been really good,” Porter said on Altitude’s digital show. “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.”
After landing awkwardly in the second half against the Bucks, Porter missed Denver’s next six games leading into the AllStar break. When he did return, at Oklahoma City on Feb. 21, his minutes were sporadic before the NBA’s suspension.
“I’m kind of using this time as beneficial to me, getting to rest that ankle,” Porter said. “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.
“Yeah, I was playing through a lot of pain,” he added. “Especially planting on it and cutting. That was tough for me. I felt like I needed to play, obviously.”
In his downtime, he said he’s been preparing for the NBA 2K tournament that will air Friday night on ESPN. Porter, a No. 12 seed, drew No. 5 seed Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns.
Booker’s a notorious gamer, but Porter liked his chances.
“I’m just naturally good at 2K,” he said. “It’s kind of weird. 2K, if you’re good at actual basketball, like it translates.”