Michael Porter Jr’s recent comments on women, gambling in the NBA, and the education system have gathered significant attention this summer. Following the former NBA champion’s move to the Nets, he has been on an unfiltered media spree where he may have struck some nerves the wrong way.
Following his comments on why he doesn’t date in the NBA, Evan Turner, the former NBA player, took to social media and compared him to Kanye West.
“Putting a microphone in front of MPJ is like putting one in front of ‘YE. Y’all need to stop.”
Kanye West is famous for being absolutely unfiltered in his thoughts during interviews. Similarly, Turner is trying to imply that Porter Jr. also does not make any attempt to filter his responses during interviews.
Even former NBA player Channing Frye earlier claimed that Michael Porter Jr’s public relations team needs to tell him to shut down the interviews he has been giving.
Earlier, Porter Jr. addressed his brother’s gambling while revealing his own biggest vice: women. He claimed his brother had money problems and that is why he got into gambling, and since he never faced that problem in the NBA, he was distracted by his vices.
Following this, he claimed that it is easy for players to tank games, and the NBA has a lot of potential for rigging games for gambling. Subsequently, he said in another interview that he would never send his kids to a public school because they could come home identifying as a cat.
And to top this all off, he claimed he would never date a woman who has been with another man in the NBA because he doesn’t want to get into a beef with a player over a woman. These comments have hence drawn serious criticism from some former NBA players.
The former NBA champion seems to be struggling to settle down peacefully in Brooklyn. Even a homeless man did not respect him enough to take his money, even when Porter Jr. was just trying to help him.
Maybe it is time for Porter Jr. to focus on the court activities and forget about making such outrageous comments during interviews. The Nets expect Porter Jr. could become the scoring champion this season if he locks in properly.
He averaged 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in the 2024-25 regular season as the third option in Denver behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Now, as the likely first option of the team, he will have a lot more chances to prove his efficiency on the court.
He admitted that he felt his ceiling had plateaued with the Nuggets, and it was time for a change. If Porter Jr. stops his media run and locks in on achieving that leap in the coming season, he could be on track to become the new face of the Nets franchise.
