MILWAUKEE – If Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. has learned anything throughout his arduous path to the NBA, it’s patience.

Porter knows his reward his coming; it just won’t be at All-Star weekend in Chicago.

In the days leading up to Friday’s announcement of the Rising Stars showcase at All-Star weekend, Porter badly wanted to be selected. If you consider what he did in January, when injuries smacked Denver’s roster and the Nuggets had to navigate their most difficult portion of the schedule, Porter should’ve gotten the invite. Among rookies he was sixth in scoring (12.3 points), second in rebounds (6.9) and one of the most deadly 3-pointer shooters (48%) in the league, let alone first-year players.

Think January is too small a sample size? Tell that to Zion Williamson, who had four games under his belt before the announcement came down.

But talking to Porter following Friday night’s bullish win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the slight doesn’t sound like something that’s gnawing at him. Nuggets coach Michael Malone sent Porter a long text Friday telling him how proud he was of the season he’s put together and underscoring how valuable he’s been to their operation.

“He knows I deserve to be a Rising Star, be in that game, but I’m gonna be playing in the playoffs, and that’s worth a lot more to me than playing in that game,” Porter said. “So I’m just gonna keep working, get my rest during that All-Star break and be ready for that second half of the season.”

Of the 10 players named to the U.S. roster, six of them are on teams currently out of the playoffs, including three Charlotte Hornets. Porter can live with being overlooked for the annual showcase if it means playing in games that matter.

“I’m really not worried about it,” Porter said. “I’m just gonna keep working. I’m more worried about the team and our team success.”

Veteran Will Barton figured there were NBA politics at play and took the same macro approach as Porter.

“He’s got bigger fish to fry,” Barton said of the budding star.

That’s not to say Porter can’t benefit from the snub. Not only will the extended rest get him off his feet – Porter rolled his right ankle Friday night but appeared to avoid anything serious – but he can tap into that energy any time he’s facing Charlotte’s P.J. Washington or Golden State’s Eric Paschall, both of whom made the team.

“I’ll use it as motivation, but I don’t really try to play the game out of anger,” Porter said. “Like I’m not going to go out there and be mad I didn’t make it, so try to go score a bunch of points. Like I just go out there and try to play the game that I love. To not get picked, it definitely adds some fuel to the fire. It is what it is. Man, that’s other people’s decision.”

On Friday, before rolling his ankle, Porter hit the glass like a man possessed. He snatched 11 rebounds for his fourth double-digit rebounding effort in his last six games. He also had 15 points, one highlight reel basket on Bucks forward Khris Middleton and one block against reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“The guy is a rebounding machine,” Malone said. “There’s a couple things you can’t teach in this game: a soft shooting touch, and size and length. I can’t teach that. Michael has that.”

Malone has taught Porter one thing, though. Excuses, the kind that are readily available at every corner of the NBA’s demanding schedule, aren’t what the Nuggets are about.

“(The culture) just has grown me up a lot as a young man, I feel like, because I’ve got a lot of things that I could make excuses about, but just being in this culture, that’s not allowed around here,” Porter said. “I like the culture and I feel like everybody here has bought into it.”