Michael Porter Jr is one of the best shooters in the NBA. That's been his calling card for his entire career so far. His shooting was a key component to the Denver Nuggets' recent championship, too. Despite getting some flak from fans due to his one-dimensional play, there's no denying the now-Brooklyn Nets forward's shooting ability.
Porter seems to be extremely confident in his shooting. That's already apparent in his style of play, but the Nets forward seemed to confirm his almost-irrational confidence in a recent Twitch stream. Appearing on a Twitch stream, Porter said that there's only one NBA player who's “clearly” better than him in shooting ability: Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.
” Stephen Curry—that’s the only one I’m giving like a clear ‘elite, can shoot better than me.',” Porter said when asked about who's a better shooter than him. “There’s dudes that are on the same level: I think Klay Thompson. KD, I think like… If I got in the gym, like Duncan Robinson—he probably can shoot with me. You know—Trae Young, Dame… But I think Steph is the only one that’s clearly a better shooter.”
That's quite the bold statement from Porter. Curry is the greatest shooter of all-time, but there's an argument to be made that Thompson is at least a top-five shooter in NBA history. He's fifth all-time in three-pointers made while having nearly the same efficiency as Curry (albeit on a slightly lower volume, but still enough to be considered elite). Durant, on the other hand, doesn't have the same three-point accolades as Curry or Thompson, but he's widely-considered as one of the greatest mid-range shooters in NBA history. The Nets forward is essentially puttting himself in the same all-time conversations as these two stars.
Does Porter have the potential to be an all-time shooter? Definitely. He has a reputation of being a little too trigger-happy when shooting. That being said, his shooting percentage (career 40.6% shooter from deep) shows that even while taking “bad shots”, he has the shot-making ability to power through tough contests. However, placing himself on the tier of all-time shooting greats like Thompson and Durant is a little… odd.
