HIDDEN POTENTIAL?

Michael Porter Jr. had his first career start yesterday when the Denver Nuggets took on the Sacramento Kings at the Pepsi Center. Touted as one of the most promising players of his class, the forward was only picked at No.14 in the 2018 NBA Draft. But why did his stock value dropped so much at the time?

A phenom during his high school days, Porter led Tolton Regional Catholic High School to a state title 54 years after their last one, as they’ve finished 26-3 overall. He lately transferred to Nathan Hale in Seattle, bringing them a state title as well. Finished his stint in high school, he became a prospect widely recruited to integrate different college’s programs, and although Washington was his first choice, he decided to back down from that decision, joining his dad at Missouri.

.@iamisiahthomas sat down with Missouri prospect, Michael Porter Jr. ahead of the 2018 #NBADraft. pic.twitter.com/LcdyDMVypX — NBA TV (@NBATV) June 19, 2018

However, in his first college game, he severely injured his back, making him miss almost all season for Missouri, coming back to play in the last two games, being eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Florida State. Due to his back problem, his stock started to fall close to the NBA Draft as teams feared he could be limited throughout his whole career. Projected as one of the candidates for the No.1 pick in the draft, he was selected at 14th by the Denver Nuggets.



While the 13 teams ahead of Denver are not filled with regret, seeing how Porter hasn’t played at all in the league, they sure are keeping an eye on the forward’s performances as of late. After a one year off to take care of his injury problems, the 21-year-old finally seems healthy, with that meaning that he’ll get more minutes as time goes by. Adding to that, if yesterday’s game is any indication of Porter’s potential that people were talking about a few years ago, the Nuggets organization struck gold once again, as they’ve been excellent lately when it comes to their selection in the previous NBA Drafts.