For Michael Porter Jr., the 2022/23 season was a season of getting healthy and it was a fantastic bonus that he also became an NBA champion. Mike himself would probably tell you that his performance in the 2023 NBA playoffs was not up to his standards and so he returned in 2023/24 hoping to make an even bigger impact as Denver’s wing. Overall, the 2023/24 season was a successful one for MPJ. Above all, he put an end to any doubts about his health, missing only one game during the season. He also continued to play his role as well as could be expected, providing Denver with the long-range threat they needed to complement their multitude of scoring options. He carried the team for much of their first-round run with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he may have still sensed there was something to play for in the playoffs with his performance in the second round where Denver ultimately succumbed to the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven games. Heading into the 2024/25 campaign, the Nuggets will lean even more on Porter to make an impact.
Season 23/24 Statistics
| MPG | PPG | Role play | APG | BLK | %FG | 3PT% | VRP | BPM |
| 31.7 | 16.7 | 7 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 48.4% | 39.7% | 1.3 | 0.1 |
History of the season
It didn’t take Porter long to get going in the regular season. He started the year with a 12/12 double-double and spent the rest of the first week struggling for consistency with his shooting. By early November, however, he figured out the problem and strung together a dozen straight games with double-digit scoring, including seven games with 20+ points. He also managed to grab double-digit rebounds during that stretch three times. If there was a complaint, rebounds might be where it was placed. MPJ showed that he was more than capable of grabbing 10+ rebounds a night, but his effort at that level waned at times, leading to inconsistent totals. He strung together three straight games with 10 rebounds in late November, then didn’t break double digits for six more games. He also didn’t attempt enough field goals. A superb free throw shooter, Porter has too often failed to force the issue, leaving him with multiple games without a free throw attempt. Part of that is due to the game design, Porter simply doesn’t get many opportunities to take players one-on-one in Denver’s half-court attack, but part of it could also be due to the fact that he relies on jump shots. Still, with Jamal Murray spending most of the early season in the training room, Porter has emerged as the second scoring option Denver has needed and has done as well as anyone could hope.
Once Murray returned, MPJ took on a more understated role on offense but still filled it beautifully, punishing any team that dared to let him send a one-two punch to Murray or Nikola Jokic. When Murray was injured again in the spring, Porter stepped up his scoring again. He scored nine points against the Boston Celtics on March 7 (Game 63 of the season), which would be the last regular season game he didn’t finish in double figures. His second half of the season also included his best scoring of the season (a thirty-four-point outburst against the Portland Trail Blazers), scoring thirty-one points against the New York Knicks on 13/16 shooting, and a twenty-five-point game against the Lakers where he didn’t miss a shot. Heading into the playoffs, Porter was playing his best ball of the year and that continued in Denver’s first round. He shot 55% from the field and 48.7% from three-point range in that series. His lowest scoring performance was nineteen points in Game 1. Simply put, without Porter, the Nuggets would not win this series against Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Porter’s consistency did not continue after Game 1 of the series against Minnesota. He only broke double digits once after Game 1 (the deciding game of Game 3) and even apologized to the team for his performance in the series.
2024/25 outlook with the Nuggets
MPJ will need to pick up where he left off at the end of the regular season with the Nuggets. Defenses will undoubtedly test the Nuggets’ starter, which will leave Porter with fewer open attempts from the outside. He’s also been free of a back injury for a year now, and teams know full well that Porter is the third option on offense and extremely dangerous, so he’ll be a vital part of any opponent’s game plan. The good news is that all of that is within his capabilities. There’s no reason to think he won’t continue to be a 40%+ three-point shooter, and he’s not shrinking, so he’ll still be able to rise above defenders and sink three-pointers in their eyes. It would be great to see him reach a 20+ point per game level, but it’s questionable whether that will ever happen for the Nuggets. MPJ is always going to have a reduced number of shots as a third option and unless Jamal or Nikola get hurt, I don’t expect that to change. The fact is, there aren’t enough shots available for Mike to average 20 shots per night. If he did, he’d easily score 20+ shots.
He can continue to develop his game to get there. We started to see more and more of Mike’s ability to get his defender off the dribble and get to the cup last season, adding more of that to his game and being aggressive at the rim will not only help him get more layups but also earn more trips to the free throw line. It will be interesting to see if he gets more opportunities to move around with the bench as well. Last season that job typically fell to Murray and Aaron Gordon while Porter and KCP played primarily with Nikola. I would like to see Michael Malone put the ball in Porter’s hands more with the reserve group and allow him to take on that number one scoring role when he plays with that group. At 6’2″, Mike can rise above anyone to shoot and also intimidate a lot of players. Put him against the bench players and he becomes an absolute problem for defenders. Mike can certainly shine in this role, but again, that won’t happen if he leaves room for Jamal and Nikola. Giving him more games on the bench is a way to maximize his offensive talents while mitigating the lack of offensive power from the backups. But more than anything, Mike needs to repeat what he did last season, which is stay healthy. The biggest issue for him will always be his availability, and the only way to fully defend him is for him to not be on the court at all. As long as he’s healthy, he’ll continue to be a vital part of the Nuggets’ core and a top-3 player on the team at a championship level.
