Michael Porter Jr. has come a long way-both on and off the court. Today, he's thriving with the Brooklyn Nets, putting up career-best numbers and proving himself as one of the league’s most efficient scorers. But rewind the clock a few years, and it’s almost hard to believe just how close he thought he was to losing it all before his career even got off the ground.
"I thought I was getting kicked out of the NBA!" -- MPJ talks about when he leaked Adam Silver's number on Snapchat and had to apologize 💀 pic.twitter.com/rVgTivjm7T
— TheOldManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) February 5, 2026
Back in 2019, fresh off a rookie season he didn’t play due to a back injury, Porter found himself in hot water at an NBA players’ summit. During the offseason gathering, he made what he now calls the most embarrassing mistake of his life: he accidentally posted NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s personal phone number on his Snapchat story.
“I thought I was getting out of the NBA, honestly,” Porter said during a recent appearance on The Old Man and The Three podcast. “They pulled me into the office and were like, ‘You leaked Adam Silver's number?’
I'm like, ‘What?’ I checked my Snapchat story and saw that it had 500 screenshots.
I'm like, ‘Oh, my god.’”
The league didn’t take it lightly. Porter was mortified, convinced the accidental leak would be the end of his NBA journey before it really began. In a moment of pure humility, he even offered to apologize publicly-and did just that, walking on stage in front of a room full of players to own up to the mistake.
That apology turned out to be enough. The league didn’t banish him, and Porter got a second chance to prove himself-something he’s taken full advantage of ever since.
Porter’s road back hasn’t been easy. After falling to the No. 14 pick in the 2018 draft due to concerns about his back-which had already required surgery-he underwent two more procedures early in his NBA career. But over the last four seasons, he’s managed to stay relatively healthy and consistently productive.
He played a key role in the Denver Nuggets’ 2023 championship run, showing he could contribute at a high level on a contending team. Over his final three seasons in Denver, Porter appeared in 220 of a possible 246 regular-season games, averaging 17.4 points while shooting an efficient .492 from the field, .401 from three, and .795 from the free-throw line. That’s elite shooting for a 6-foot-10 forward who spaces the floor and can score at all three levels.
But this season with the Nets? He’s taken his game to another level.
Now 27, Porter is averaging 25.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting .474 from the field, .385 from beyond the arc, and .853 from the free-throw line. Those numbers don’t just look good-they put him in rare company.
He’s one of just 15 players in the league averaging at least 25 points per game with a true shooting percentage above 60. That list includes names like Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, and Joel Embiid-superstars who define the modern NBA.
For Porter, it’s validation after years of uncertainty. He’s not just surviving in the league anymore-he’s thriving.
The back issues that once clouded his future are in the rearview mirror. The early missteps, like the Snapchat incident, are now footnotes in a story that’s becoming more about resilience, growth, and elite-level production.
And if this season is any indication, Porter isn’t done climbing.