Michael Porter Jr. was recently traded from the Nuggets to the Nets. Following the trade, he came under media spotlight for his candid takes on his brother’s and his vices, followed by his eye-opening takes on the potential of rigging in the NBA and Andrew Tate.
Following this rising attention from the media, Porter Jr. sat down for an interview on the Glory Daze podcast with Johnny Manziel, where he spoke about his time with the Nuggets and facing the Lakers in the Playoffs. Amid that conversation, he ended up unveiling the truth about his former teammate, Nikola Jokic.
“I didn’t really know much about Nikola, honestly. I did not. And he wasn’t the superstar he is now when I first got drafted,” said Porter Jr. as he recalled playing with Jokic in his rookie season.
“I really didn’t see it at first,” recalled Porter Jr. about whether he saw Jokic’s potential at first glance.
“Like, even when we went into training camp, I remember asking my teammates. I was like, “Wait, so this dude is really that nice?” Like everybody keeps telling me, he’s that cold, but in training camp, like him and Mason Plumlee, our backup center, were kind of going head-to-head.”
“They were like, ‘No, Mike, like wait till the real games come. You’re going to see like, this dude’s a problem. Like he could score 50 every single night if he wanted to.’ But I didn’t see it at first, but I quickly found out that nah, he is him and he is the best player in the world.”
“And I got to play alongside him for those years, and it was amazing to learn from him, and it was amazing to learn his work habits too. Like, he’s so nonchalant about basketball. I don’t know if you saw the clip of when his horse won the race.”
Jokic is often accused of not caring about basketball as much as he loves equestrian sports, especially horse racing. When he unintentionally blurted out his retirement plans earlier this summer, fans anticipated that he wanted to go back to Serbia and train his horses to enjoy equestrian sports in his retirement.
But Porter Jr believes that is not the case. Porter Jr further went on to give Nikola Jokic his flowers for not letting the media know about his true work ethic by staying humble.
“It’s the same things the media sees, like him winning the championship and then and then him just saying ‘The job is over. I get to go home now.’ Like, he’s just such a family dude. But at the same time, people don’t realize that you don’t achieve that type of greatness by accident.”
“His day-to-day habits and his day-to-day, the way he works at his craft is unbelievable. Like he’s the most consistent guy in terms of getting his treatment, in terms of his court times, in terms of his lifts after the game.”
“Like people have this perception of Nikola, like he doesn’t care that much, but he cares so much about basketball and being great, and that’s why he is the player he is. I haven’t seen anyone in my life that consistent.”
“You know, I’ve heard the stories of LeBron and how LeBron has been able to uphold his greatness, and it’s through consistency day to day. But Nikola is the same way, man.”
“Like it doesn’t matter if he goes out the night before, it doesn’t matter. He’s getting his work in. He’s getting his treatment in. He’s taking care of himself, and he’s going to be ready to go when the game comes around.”
At age 40, LeBron James is at the pinnacle of NBA longevity. If Jokic loves basketball like James, then the Nuggets have nothing to worry about for the next half-decade at least, especially considering not everyone can replicate James.
The 30-year-old three-time MVP has yet to pen down an extension with the Nuggets and will likely not do it this summer. While the media and fans anticipate Jokic could ask for a move and join Luka Doncic, I believe he will stay in Denver for the rest of his career and build a historic legacy with the Nuggets.
