Michael Porter Jr. feared his NBA career was over before it had even started. After missing his entire rookie season due to a back injury, the then-Denver Nuggets forward made what he thought was a fatal mistake at an NBA players' summit during the 2019 offseason.
Porter accidentally posted NBA commissioner Adam Silver's phone number on his Snapchat story during a meeting. The league didn't take kindly to his boneheaded mistake.
“I thought I was getting out of the NBA, honestly,” Porter said 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.' So I'm thinking I'm getting kicked out of the league. So I'm like, ‘Please, I'll go up on the stage and I'll apologize.' So they had me walk up there in front of all these guys and, man, that was literally the most embarrassing moment of my life.”
"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
Thankfully, Porter's apology sufficed, and the league did not exile him.
Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. finds success following multiple early-career scares
Against all odds, the 27-year-old has carved out a very successful NBA career. After falling to the No. 14 pick in the draft due to a back injury that had required surgery, Porter underwent two more surgeries after the Nuggets selected him. However, he's regained his health in recent years, remaining available and effective for most of the last four seasons.
Porter played a key role for the Nuggets during their 2023 title run. He appeared in 220 out of 246 regular-season games across his final three seasons with the team, averaging 17.4 points on .492/.401/.795 shooting splits.
The 6-foot-10 sharpshooter has turned in his most impressive campaign this season following his trade to the Brooklyn Nets.
Porter has averaged 25.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists on .474/.385/.853 shooting splits. He's one of 15 players averaging 25 points or more with a true shooting percentage of 60 or better, alongside Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Jamal Murray, Joel Embiid, Lauri Markkanen, Deni Avdija, and Austin Reaves.
