Michael Porter Jr. got snubbed.
The Nets forward had called making his first All-Star Game a dream, and he had a great case amid a career year.
But he was one of the most glaring omissions on Sunday, not included among the seven Eastern Conference reserves.
Porter — who sat out the Nets game at Detroit on Sunday — is averaging 25.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game along with 3.8 3-pointers, all career highs.
He joined Lakers star Luka Doncic as the only players in the NBA averaging 25 points, seven boards and three 3s, but that didn’t get him an invitation to the Feb. 15 All-Star Game in L.A.
“It definitely would be a dream come true,” Porter had said in December. “It was in my mind as a kid to make the NBA, but not only be in the NBA but be one of the best players in the NBA. And an All-Star selection shows that progress.”
That progress is undeniable, even if Porter has been spurned — for now. It’s possible he’ll be named later as an injury replacement.
“He’s playing at an All-Star level. If you like watching basketball, I’m pretty sure you’ll like watching Michael play,” said Jordi Fernandez.
The East nods went to Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Johnson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Norman Powell, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Duren and Pascal Siakam.
The latter plays for an Indiana team that was just 13-36, a game worse than tanking Brooklyn’s 13-34 mark entering Sunday.
The reserves are picked by the coaches, who usually favor team success; but with Siakam getting the nod over Porter, win-loss record wasn’t the whole story.
On a rebuilding Nets team with five rookies, Porter has had to play a different role and face different challenges in this career-best year.
“Now I’m the leader on the team, and I’m helping to lead young guys, 19-, 20-, 21-year-olds and teach them about winning, winning habits, winning culture, a lot that I learned from my time in Denver,” Porter said Thursday. “Now I’m going to be able to share that with young guys, young talented players who will be in the NBA longer than I will. So that’s pretty cool, I think.”
Porter could conceivably still be named to the All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was voted in as a starter.
“Just look at what we look like when he’s on the court vs. when he’s not on the court,” Nic Claxton added recently. “He does so much: He creates so many opportunities for himself, for teammates. His averages are off the charts. So he definitely should be an All-Star.”
Porter missed his second straight game Sunday in Detroit, but unlike Antetokounmpo, he wasn’t hurt.
He was out for personal reasons.
But with Porter having his name bandied about in various trade rumors — and the trade deadline Thursday at 3 p.m. — this did not signify his exit.
His grandmother recently passed away, and after playing Thursday against the Nuggets, Porter missed the games Friday in Utah and Sunday in Detroit.
Porter — who’d been dealing with a sore knee — bounced back from a season-low nine points on 3-for-11 shooting in the Jan. 25 loss at the Clippers to start this five-game road trek with his two best performances as a Net.
The veteran forward had 36 points last Tuesday in Phoenix on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range.
Then Porter followed up with 38 points — one shy of his career high — on 7-for-15 from deep in Thursday’s return to Denver.
It remains to be seen if Porter rejoins the Nets for Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Lakers at Barclays Center.
It’s also unclear if he’ll be an injury replacement for Antetokounmpo on Feb. 15, or if he’ll even be in Brooklyn past Thursday.
But more and more, league executives expect Porter to be a Net.
Now, will the league see fit to make him an All-Star?
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
