University of Missouri product Michael Porter Jr. woke up a rich man on Tuesday morning, with ESPN reporting that the young sharpshooter has signed a five-year extension with the Denver Nuggets worth up to $207 million. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the deal to the Associated Press.
Porter Jr. missed the majority of his freshman season at Missouri with a lower back injury. With questions surrounding his durability, Porter Jr. slipped to Denver with the 14th overall pick in the 2018 draft, but after having a couple of inconsistent seasons with the Nuggets, Porter Jr’s game has began to blossom.
Last season, Porter averaged 19 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, leading Denver with 170 3-pointers.
This crowns a meteoric rise for Porter, whose college basketball career at Missouri was derailed by a back injury so severe that many questioned if he was worth the risk of being taken in the 2018 NBA draft. He slid to Denver at No. 14, the final lottery selection. Porter sat out his first season in Denver after undergoing a back procedure in July 2018.
He rebounded and has been rewarded handsomely. Porter is averaging 14.4 points per game in the NBA, eighth-best of those taken in that class.
The 23-year-old Porter is coming off a season in which he averaged 19 points and 7.3 rebounds. He also led the Nuggets with 170 3-pointers. In the 2020 “NBA Bubble”, utilized in Orlando as the NBA protected its players against the coronavirus, Porter averaged 22 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists over the Nuggets eight contests to decide postseason seeing.
Led by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, slashing guard Jamal Murray, and now having locked up Porter, Denver appears to be ready to challenge for Western Conference supremacy for the forseeable future.
