Brooklyn Nets star Michael Porter Jr. isn’t shy about how much he enjoyed lighting up the Lakers. In a recent appearance on the Glory Daze podcast, the former Nuggets forward opened up about his favorite playoff battles and made it clear that facing Los Angeles always brought out his best. Part of the reason stems from the overconfident Lakers fans, who always gave him some added motivation.
“I used to love those series against the Lakers. They were very exciting, and the Lakers fan base is nuts,” said Porter Jr. “They always thought they could beat us, but they never did. I always had good series against the Lakers.”
Porter Jr. was traded to the Nets this summer, but he’s not too far removed from his glory days in Denver. While there, he battled the Lakers in two separate playoff series and still recalls the intensity of the crowd, the star power of LeBron James, and the Nuggets’ sheer dominance on the court. Looking back, Porter says those matchups were unforgettable for all the right reasons.
“I don’t know what it was, but I always cook the Lakers. I just think they didn’t really have a matchup for me that was trying to come off of screens,” Porter Jr. added. “But those series against LeBron were dope. He’s the epitome of greatness in sports, and so to be able to go into Los Angeles and sweep the Lakers one year, and the other year we beat them like 4-1 or 4-2, I think. It was a good feeling, and when you have so much respect for somebody like I do for LeBron, and to be able to come out on top, it was lit.”
The Nuggets have been a consistent source of trouble for the Lakers, starting with their matchup in the Western Conference Finals in 2023. The Lakers shocked everyone with two impressive victories in the first two rounds, but they had no answer to the Nuggets, who won in a perfect 4-0 sweep en route to their first NBA championship. Porter Jr. put up a respectable 15.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game in the series, shooting 40.8% from the field and 31.3% from three-point range.
Their next playoff encounter happened one year later, this time in the very first round. The Lakers were able to win one game in the series, but the Nuggets still came away with the easy win. For his part, Porter Jr. torched the competition with averages of 22.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on 55.3% shooting and 48.8% shooting from three in five games. Of course, the Nuggets went on to lose in the second round to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
With an extensive history of beating the Lakers when it matters most, Porter Jr. certainly has bragging rights over the purple and gold, and that doesn’t even count his regular-season matches against them. As it stands, he’s up to 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 14 games against the Lakers in his career.
Ultimately, nobody can say for sure why Porter Jr. has such an easy time against the Lakers, but it might have something to do with him wanting to stick it to their rowdy fanbase. Or, it could be that playing against a legend like LeBron James helps him lock in to a whole new degree.
Whatever the case, Michael Porter Jr. always circles Lakers games on his calendar, and you can bet he already knows when the next ones will be. On the Nets, he’ll only have two games against the Lakeshow: February 3rd and March 27th.
Without the support of Nikola Jokic, it’ll be harder than ever for Porter Jr. to cook against the new-look Lakers (with Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves leading), but you can bet that he’ll be fired up and ready to give maximum effort and focus to take them down.
