The Denver Nuggets forward said an ominous report from the Clippers medical staff caused the L.A. franchise to pass on him in the 2018 NBA Draft.
The Nuggets caught a break in the 2018 NBA Draft when Michael Porter Jr. fell to the end of the lottery, allowing Denver to scoop him up at no. 14.
Porter Jr. was one of the nation’s top prospects coming out of high school, but recurring back woes limited him to just three games at the University of Missouri — and caused NBA teams to fret about his long-term health.
What medical problems concerned the Clippers with Michael Porter Jr.?
Porter had a microdiscectomy of his L3-L4 spinal disks in Nov. 2017 and then another spinal operation in July 2018.
The Los Angeles Clippers had two golden opportunities to land Porter Jr. with consecutive first-round picks (no. 12 and no. 13), but opted, twice, to pass on the athletic scoring forward. Instead, L.A. went with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (later traded for Paul George) and shooting guard Jerome Robinson.
According to Porter Jr., he knew he wasn’t destined for L.A. after the Clippers team doctor wrote an alarming report on his health prospects.
“Their doctor was the one that wrote the report on me,” Porter told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I think he wrote some stuff like he thought that I would never play basketball again so I didn’t think they’d pick me.”
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers acknowledged that while the team was impressed by Porter Jr.’s hoops prowess, his uncertain medical status scared them off—especially once they landed Gilgeous-Alexander.
“It was brutal for us,” Rivers said about evaluating Porter before the draft. “We had [him] on our board, just the medical report, the red flag was so hot.”
“We got the one guy we wanted,” Rivers added, referring to Gilgeous-Alexander. “And the second pick, when he was on the board, it was a brutal pass because everyone in the room knew his talent but it was more the injury concern. That was the only other concern.”
Porter Jr. sat out the 2018-19 season and saw minimal action during the pre-hiatus portion of the 2019-20 campaign. After Will Barton and Gary Harris went down with injuries, Porter Jr. was given an opportunity to start in the bubble and averaged 22.0 points and 8.6 rebounds on 55.1 percent shooting in the seeding games.
However, Porter Jr. struggled in his first taste of playoff basketball. He averaged 12 points and seven rebounds over Denver’s tense seven-game series against the Utah Jazz, and his defense — or lack thereof — was a liability. He’ll have a chance to improve his (young) postseason resume against the team that passed on him two years ago in the Western Conference semifinals, which begins Thursday night.
Whether Porter Jr. holds a chip against the Clippers or not, the sophomore is looking forward to the match-up that will pit him against Kawhi Leonard and George. “It’s going to be fun to play against them, for sure,” Porter Jr. said.