Michael Porter Jr.: Winners in life who have tens of millions of annual salary, also have to face workplace crises and self-provement

This year's NBA offseason, the Denver Nuggets' operations attracted a lot of attention. Not long ago, a series of operations of the team were officially announced one after another. Netizens commented, "The teacher finally needs more helpers!" The starting point of a series of operations was that the Nuggets sent Michael Porter Jr. to the Nets for Cameron Johnson, which not only brought new combat power but also made room.

As a result, Porter Jr., who has been in trading rumors since the middle of last season, eventually became the team's "payment" for seeking change, ending his seven-year career in Denver.

The three leaders with outstanding talent, injuries, high salary and low ability, ups and downs, unqualified offensive methods... Since entering the league, he has been surrounded by various controversial tags until now. (Recently, I have been caught in striking gossip news)

1

Two months ago, in the 2024-2025 NBA Playoff Western Conference Semi-Finals, the Nuggets vs. the Thunder, the Nuggets, who were still leading at the end of the first three quarters, fell in the last quarter and lost this key battle.

In this game, the Nuggets started Porter Jr. played for 29 minutes, made 1 of 7 shots and 0 of 5 three-pointers, scoring only 2 points. Even when he participated in the battle with injuries, he still became the target of criticism from many fans.

Pressing against the sprain of the second-class acroclavicular joint of the left shoulder and wearing thick protective gear, Porter's persistence is moving. In the third game of the series, he scored 21 points in 5 of 7 three-pointers, becoming the hero of the team's victory. But then there were 3 points and 2 points in a single game that fell to freezing point. After G6 and G7 scored 10 points and 6 points, Porter Jr.'s season ended in a sad way, leaving behind the dismal data of "scoring single-digit scores in 7 games in the semi-finals", which attracted constant criticism.

He was once expected to be "Meddy Little", which made people seem to see McGrady who also insisted on playing with injuries in the 2008 playoffs. Although McGrady undoubtedly performed better at that time, she also wore shoulder protective gear and also tried to persevere through drugs (Meddy got six injections and Porter Jr. needed to inject lidocaine). The playoffs also ended in a sad end, which is somewhat sad.

2

On one side is the expectation of "Durant Little" and "Meddy Little" and the question of whether it can be raised after being injured. Since entering the league, very different evaluations have been around Porter Little.

He is the proud disciple of "Huang Mamba" Roy. He swept the whole country in high school. His three-point shooting percentage averaged 34.8 points, 13.8 rebounds and 47% in the last year of high school. He led Nathan Hale High School to win 29 wins and 0 losses in the league, becoming a popular candidate for the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. But he suffered a lumbar injury as soon as he went to college. He only played three games in the entire college, and the draft market took a sharp turn.

The Clippers' team doctor said in a medical report: "This guy may never be able to play the ball again."

Nuggets selected Porter Jr. with the "gambling" nature of "scraping the lottery". The buzzer-beating entry into the lottery area made Porter excitedly feel like he was "lost and gained". But what followed was that the first season of lumbar surgery was unable to play throughout the entire season.

In the second year, Porter Jr. averaged 16 minutes per game, scoring 9.3 points and 4.7 assists, and he began to show his shooting talent; in the third year, he took on the heavy responsibility of Murray's injury, and averaged 19 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, with a shooting percentage of 54%, and a three-point shooting percentage of 44.5%.

It seems that everything is moving in a good direction, and everyone seems to think that he created a "medical miracle" and broke the curse. During the 2021 offseason, the Nuggets will give a maximum salary renewal contract in advance, with a maximum of 207 million yuan in five years. When reordering the 2018 draft pick, the media pushed him forward. It seems that he has proved himself.

3

But like all twists and turns, "but" comes quietly at this moment.拿到顶薪后的2021-2022赛季，小波特只打了9场，而后又是背部手术，又是赛季报销。

No one questioned his talent, no one said he was futile, but fans began to worry more about his injuries. Especially after getting the big contract, he "lent" for a season. At first, some people said that he was another person who "had money, but he was afraid of anything."

2022-2023 season, Porter Jr. and Murray both made a comeback, and the Nuggets finally played in full-body lineup. This season has become the Nuggets' championship season. Porter Jr. averaged 17.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, with a three-point shooting percentage of 41.4%

The city's first championship, surrounded by flowers, it seems that you can breathe a sigh of relief? But amid the cheers, the doubts about him did not dissipate. In the finals against the Heat, Porter Jr. averaged 9.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. It is still the same problem. Everyone does not deny his help to the team, but when it comes to that maximum salary, he will still say that "morality is not worthy of position."

So he turned around and continued to prove himself - this time he had to break the trouble of injuries that had been criticized. In the 2023-2024 season, Porter Jr. played 81 games, no different from being a full attendance. By early 2025, he had played 165 of the team's 166 games since the 2023 playoffs. Nuggets fans were surprised, "Who could have thought that the person who is most secure at the moment would be Porter Jr.?"

But in fact, the injury history and intermittent new injuries are still affecting him. The aftermath of his back injury always makes his technical movements flawed, and the dry-pitch jump shot that depends on for survival is very easy to affect his hands, shoulders and legs injuries. His singles methods are diverse, ball-holding and defense, and have been criticized for a long time. It is not without progress, but fans feel that progress is "too slow".

These factors are superimposed on the game, and the shooting is a "unstable" impression - in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, Porter Jr. is like a killer god, averaging 22.8 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, shooting percentage of 55.3%, and three-point shooting percentage of 48.8%.. But in the Western Conference semi-finals, he was silent again, averaging 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, shooting percentage of 37.1% and three-point shooting percentage of 32.5%.

There are no scandals outside the stadium (before the big gossip news appeared). But his family didn't let him worry. In 2024, my younger brother was arrested for suspected drunk driving and speeding. In the same year, my second brother, who worked hard to find a job with the Raptors, was involved in gambling and was permanently suspended by the NBA. Fate jokes, constantly branding this star who most people think is the "winner of life" and "intellectual demons".

4

By the middle of the 2024-2025 season, when the trading window was close, doubts and rumors were once again rampant.

Young upstarts in the West are rising, and the Nuggets are playing harder. The management's inaction has made their substitute lineup weak and the starting lineup has taken on heavier burdens. The competition among the Western Powers is too fierce. Today is third and fourth. If you fail two or three games, you may be able to go to the playoffs.

这让掘金队也想求变了，进入12月，关于掘金队有意拿小波特换拉文、换芬尼史密斯+卡梅伦约翰逊的新闻四起。 "I leave these things to God to deal with. I have no pressure at all. I like where I am now." But he obviously began to prove himself harder, starting with 24 points against the Suns on December 24, he contributed 20+ in seven games in eight games, and in the end he did not go far away from Chicago or Brooklyn.

But the ups and downs, ups and downs and unstable plots that have existed in the past have come again. Since then, he has not had such a continuous highlight performance throughout the season. What followed was the dismal playoff performance and trade that was mentioned at the beginning. After the transaction was settled, Porter Jr. said in an interview that he thanked the Nuggets for choosing the injury-wearing self, which changed his life. But now his development seems to have encountered a bottleneck, and he looks forward to opening a new chapter in Brooklyn. He said: "After I was injured on the shoulder, I still tried hard to play, but I just couldn't play at my level and couldn't help the team."

This seems to be a reflection of his career so far, with ups and downs, opportunities, proof of persistence, unwillingness. Most Nuggets fans are excited about the deal because the team seems to have a new turnaround. But they don’t hate Porter Little. Even though there are many criticisms in their daily lives, these criticisms are actually carried in the expectations along the way, and everyone can see his indomitable and hard work.

Brooklyn Nets, after the failed attempt to form a giant, no spark has been set off. Looking at the lineup, Porter Jr. is even almost the most star-studded one. But here there is no Jokic who can make his teammates successful, and there is no atmosphere of competing for the championship. Also away from the spotlight. If there is no further outstanding performance here. It may be difficult for Porter Little to attract other people's attention.

He will begin to prove himself again, as he has been doing. But the new environment, big contracts, growing age, and gradually closing fault tolerance space make all this more different from before. As if the 35-year-old workplace crisis line is coming, how long does it take to prove himself?