Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has had his teammates on his back in recent days as his brother Coban Porter was sentenced to six years in prison for a drunk driving crash that killed a woman in Colorado last year. He said that he is pushing for this.
Friday's ruling came just two days after Porter's other brother, Jontay Porter, was permanently banned from the NBA amid a gambling scandal.
“I definitely tried to compartmentalize and bad things and sad things happened to a few of my brothers, but I wanted them to know that there are 15, 16 more brothers here, so I’m here for them. I thought, 'I've got to come here and do my job.' And try to be ready to do it at a high level,'' Porter said as the Nuggets open their series against the Los Angeles Lakers. He spoke on Saturday night after winning 1-0 in the first round.
Porter missed Nuggets practice on Friday to testify on his brother's behalf at his hearing. Corban Porter pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault as part of a plea deal in February. Prosecutors said Friday that Koban Porter was speeding at the time of the crash and had a blood alcohol level of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, The Denver Post reported.
Michael Porter Jr. said his teammates each texted him and told him, “If you ever need anything, they're here to help you, they've helped you.”
“It was huge for me to have them understand why I missed practice yesterday and just hurt my back,” he said.
Porter had a strong game in the 114-103 win over LA, recording 19 points and 8 rebounds in 38 minutes.
“It's tough, but I don't think you think about that when you're on the court,” Nuggets star Nikola Jokic said of Porter after the game. “That's why basketball is so beautiful and you don't think about anything but what's happening on the floor. Of course, there are things that happen before and after that, but we all reach out to him. It's natural.''Family comes first, but we are also a family of sorts.
“Hopefully he can find peace and be in a good place mentally.”
Porter has been with the Nuggets since he was drafted out of Missouri State in 2018. He missed most of his only season with the Tigers and his entire rookie year in Denver with a back injury. He also had another back injury that required another surgery, causing him to miss all but the first nine games of the 2021-22 season.
But he bounced back over the next few years, playing a career-high 81 games this season as the defending champion.
“We're human beings. We bring our emotions and things that happen off the court onto the court, but I'm mentally tough. I've been through a lot in my career. I've done that, so you know this was one of those things that I had to get done,” Porter said.
