AAU basketball is one of the most important avenues for the sport in the United States. A lot of young players are able to garner attention and open doors for themselves through their play in these tournaments. While not the most glorious form of organized basketball, one NBA player claims the practice sessions in AAU were the hardest.
During an interview with Taylor Rook, Michael Porter Jr. spoke about his time as an AAU player alongside Trae Young. He talked about how much he enjoyed playing alongside Trae, and how he and Trae would travel for a long time and stay at their coach’s house, and noted how the practice sessions were more difficult than his college and NBA practices combined.
“Yeah, we were like really, really good. But Mokan, that program out of Kansas City, like, that’s one of the only EYBL teams that practices. Me and Trae got really close. We would go down to Kansas City for the weekend, and stay at our coach’s house. But we would have like two or three days.”
“Mokan? Those practices and all that is harder than college and the NBA combined… Mokan, they try to prepare you for like what you’re going to face in college but it’s way harder than that. Mokan was hard.”
(From 0:24 mark)
"We could probably go down as the best AAU team ever."
Anyone beating MPJ and @TheTraeYoung’s Mokan team? 👀 @TaylorRooks pic.twitter.com/QRnqD6jQZd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 9, 2023
MPJ’s comments seemed to shock Taylor Rooks, who seemed to be in disbelief over what he was saying. But Porter Jr. stood his ground and claimed that those practices were more demanding than anything he has experienced, even though the AAU practices were trying to prepare him for the collegiate game.
Michael Porter Jr. Found Success In The NBA
Michael Porter Jr. was able to find success in college, playing for the University of Missouri. His performances in college secured his position as a top-20 draft pick in 2018. And during his time with the Denver Nuggets, he has shown that he can be a reliable player.
His injury concerns raised a few questions about whether he would be able to fulfill his potential as a superstar. But he quelled those concerns this past season, as he was able to play a key role for the Denver Nuggets in their run to the NBA championship.
Michael Malone comforted MPJ after a poor Game 5 performance where the Nuggets sealed a championship, saying that he was a key player for them. Porter Jr. will be looking to take the next step in his career as he and the Nuggets try to win the championship again.
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