Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. raised eyebrows when he hinted at retiring early from professional basketball during a recent episode of the Justin Laboy Show. In a recent media availability, Porter clarified that he wants to play for as long as possible but also acknowledged his injury history.
“Basketball is my passion. I want to play as long I can. I think that it’s just easier in my head to be like, man, give it my all, everything I have this year, and then when the year is over, see where I’m at mentally and reevaluate,” Porter said via ClutchPoints’ Erik Slater. “But in the back of my mind, obviously, I wanna play as long as my body allows me to. I’ve been through a lot of injuries, but the last few years I’ve been, like you said, pretty much an iron man.”
“I think I played the most games on Denver. Besides that freak shoulder injury during the playoffs, I was pretty comfortable throughout the whole 82-game season and the playoffs. So if that continues, I wanna obviously keep playing as long as I can,” he added.
Porter had three back surgeries from 2018 to 2021 and only made nine regular season appearances in 2021-22. But since then, the one-time NBA champion has played 62, 81, and 77 regular season games in his last three years with the Denver Nuggets before moving to the Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn Nets News: Jordi Fernandez is excited about reuniting with Michael Porter Jr.
Before becoming the Brooklyn Nets head coach, Jordi Fernandez was an assistant for the Denver Nuggets, where he coached a younger Michael Porter Jr.
“Michael is a grown man now. When I was with him, he was a young kid… He was a great player when he was younger, and now, I can see how mature he is,” Fernandez said. “You can tell that he’s played on a winning team for many years, and it’s great to have his experience here. He can share a lot of his thoughts with his teammates, and I think he’s embracing his new position.”
“People underestimate how mentally tough Mike and all the players who went through serious injuries are. You never know what it is until you go through it. What he’s accomplished, considering everything he had to go through, is very impressive, and I give him a lot of credit. The fact that he’s enjoying it, he’s coming here every day and working, he’s got a lot of basketball left to play.”
