Player Bio

Michael Porter Jr. was born in 1998 in Columbia, Missouri. His mother, Lisa, played basketball at Iowa. His father, Michael Porter Sr. played college ball at New Orleans and was also an assistant coach at the University of Missouri during Michael Jr.'s one season there. Younger brother Jontay Porter also played at Mizzou. For high school ball, Porter attended Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia, Missouri, before transferring to Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington for his senior season. Porter has seven siblings (Bri, Cierra, Jontay, Coban, Jevan, Izaak and Jayda). Porter grew up as a vegetarian. Then, in 2018, he changed his diet to raw vegan. Check him out on Twitter (@MPJr). Porter's collegiate career felt like a pin poked into a balloon. The 6-foot-10 forward was one of the top recruits in his class. As a high school senior in Washington, he averaged 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds and his team was undefeated on its way to a Class 3A State Championship. Porter put up 19 points in the Nike Hoop Summit. Originally, he was going to stay in state and play for coach Lorenzo Romar at Washington. When Romar was fired, the sweet-shooting forward chose Missouri, in order to play with his brother Jontay. He hurt his back in his first game of the season and the injury required surgery. Porter made appearances in the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. He had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in the loss to Florida State in the first round of the Big Dance. After the abbreviated season, Porter declared for the 2018 NBA Draft and was selected with the 14th overall pick by the Denver Nuggets.