The rosters for the 2020 Rising Stars Challenge were released on Friday and according to Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone, there was one big omission. Second-year forward Michael Porter Jr. was one major snub from the roster.
“If Michael Porter is not a rising star in the NBA, I don’t know what the hell a rising star is,” Malone said per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.
The Rising Stars Challenge features exceptional first and second-year players and pits an American-born team to one with international players in the league.
A native of Columbia, Missouri, Michael Porter Jr. would have been on Team USA. Among those that were selected instead of Porter include Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr. P.J. Washington, Zion Williamson, and Eric Paschall.
A top player in the class of 2017, MPJ was supposed to be the next great NBA star. A lower back injury kept Porter out of all but three games in his collegiate career at the University of Missouri.
Injury concerns and lack of college production led to Porter slipping to the 14th pick of the 2018 NBA draft. After sitting out his first season due to injury, Porter has made an impact for Denver this season.
In 38 games and only 14.0 minuter per contest, the former five-star recruit is putting up 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting a red-hot 51.1 percent from the floor and 43.5 percent from deep.
A lack of playtime and therefore stats likely contributed to Porter's snub from the Rising Stars Challenge despite his remarkable production at only 21 years old.
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