With the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency, the Denver Nuggets are going to be relying on Michael Porter Jr. on the wing more than they have in recent seasons. The Nuggets held media day this week and ahead of training camp, Michael Porter revealed that he had undergone a new body transformation for this season as per Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
Benedetto reported that, “Michael Porter Jr. is on muscle watch. He says he’s around 236/237 pounds right now. He expects to play around 232. He was listed at 218 last season.”
With Porter bulking up, it’s possible that the Nuggets expect he will play a little more in the post. He’s had success with being able to post up smaller wings and shoot the little turnaround jumper. Porter is expected to reprise his role as the Nuggets starting small forward for the upcoming season.
A former top-ranked high school recruit, Porter overcame a back injury his rookie year to develop into one of the best role players in the league. He played a crucial role during the Nuggets 2023 championship run.
This past season, Porter appeared in 81 games at a little over 31 minutes per game. He averaged 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists with splits of 48.4 percent shooting from the field, 39.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 83.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line. His free-throw percentage was a career-high.
The former No. 14 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Porter is also one of the league’s best three-point shooters with a career average of 41 percent from distance. He’s one of the best catch and shoot players in the NBA. He will be entering his sixth season in the NBA with the Nuggets.
The Nuggets made it to the Western Conference Semifinals last season before falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven games.
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