Michael Porter Jr. is heading into the 2026-27 season with a familiar job description in Brooklyn: carry a big chunk of the offense and make it count.
The Nets made Porter one of the centerpieces of last season’s deal with Denver, which also brought Brooklyn a first-round pick, and he delivered as the team’s top scoring threat under head coach Jordi Fernandez. At 28, he posted the best numbers of his career, averaging 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.3% from three.
Now the next step is less about volume and more about sustaining the level he showed early. Porter’s season split tells the story.
Before January, he was humming along at 49.6% shooting overall and 41.0% from beyond the arc. After that, those numbers dipped to 43.1% from the field and 31.7% from deep.
For a perimeter scorer whose value comes from keeping defenses honest, that drop is hard to ignore.
So what does Brooklyn need from him this time around? First and foremost, better shooting over the full grind of the season.
A 46.3% clip from the floor and 36.3% from three can still play for a wing, especially with the kind of shot diet Porter had. But the Nets need the version of Porter who stayed efficient before the calendar flipped.
They also need him to stay plugged in from start to finish. Porter said after the season that he "took his foot" off the gas once it became clear the Nets were not headed for the postseason and had only a long shot at the play-in tournament.
That’s the challenge now. After seven years with the Nuggets, he was used to winning.
Brooklyn will need him to keep that edge even if the season goes sideways again.
The third piece is shot creation. If defenses are already pushing him off the three-point line, Porter has to get a little better at making space for himself and generating cleaner looks.
He was still effective when he got open, and with Julius Randle now on the roster, those opportunities should come more often. Even a modest jump there could pay off in a big way for his efficiency.
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Nets Training Camp Will Reveal If This Roster Can Actually Fit
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Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. give the camp a different kind of urgency, since both are trying to sharpen their games and adjust to the speed and physicality of NBA competition. If the Nets are going to make any real progress this season, it will start with how quickly those players build chemistry and how well the pieces begin to fit together. [Read more 🡒]