Atlanta Hawks All-Star Trae Young believes Denver Nuggets guard Michael Porter Jr. was on pace to becoming one of the NBA's best two-way players. Young talked about Porter Jr.'s history with back injuries significantly preventing MPJ from reaching his full potential in the NBA, via Podcast P with Paul George presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.

Young even compared Porter Jr.'s trajectory to that of the podcast's host and Philadelphia 76ers All-Star.

“I was at the practice that he hurt his back. I was with him a week ago, and we still talk about that. The difference in his game is that he would have been like another PG,” Young said. “He's so offensively skilled, and he's just so smooth with his game, and he was a really good defender in high school.”

“But he could have been an even better defender at this level if his back wasn't so stiff and him having screws and things messed up in his back,” Young continued. “It's just unfortunate. He would have been a really, really high-level player. Thankfully, he's still made a good career so far.”

Trae Young speaks on how great Michael Porter Jr was before the back issues
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As Trae Young alluded, Porter Jr. was projected to be a top-three lottery pick but slid down to the 14th overall where the Nuggets selected the Missouri product in the 2018 NBA Draft. After forfeiting the 2018-19 campaign, he played 55 games in 2019-20 before finishing third for Most Improved Player in 2021, averaging 19.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game for the Nuggets.

Michael Porter Jr. faces backlash for his ‘money' statement

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Michael Porter Jr. discussed money in the NBA and how it can complicate the game, on an episode of “Off Guard with Austin Rivers,” Pointing toward the league's max contracts and lofty expectations, Porter Jr. believes it takes the pure joy out of playing the game he loves.

“I would have played this game for free as long as I could eat. I loved it,” Porter Jr. said. “The money sometimes makes it a little bit harder to enjoy the game because with a max contract comes a lot of expectations on consistency, on you're supposed to be an All-Star, you're supposed to be this, that, whatever they say.”

So, without the proper context, NBA fans reacted to what they perceived as a millionaire athlete complaining about making too much money.