Michael Porter Jr. has played with Nikola Jokic for years and has seen him become one of the best players in basketball. But when Porter first joined the Denver Nuggets, he did not know much about Jokic.

At first, Porter did not understand why the Nuggets were so excited about Jokic. Porter said he did not know much about the Nuggets before joining the team in 2018. 

He said, “I barely knew the Denver Nuggets were an NBA team. So I get drafted there, and they’re telling me, like, they got this big dude who’s really good. But you know how it is in college, we were paying more attention to college.”

The story resurfaced after Katsu shared a clip on X. The Nuggets told Porter Jokic was very talented, but Porter still did not see it in training camp.

Porter recalled, “So I didn’t really know how good Joker was, but people around the organization kept telling me how good he was.”

Mason Plumlee also made Porter even more confused. Explaining what he saw in camp, he said, “We get out to training camp, and Mason’s a pretty athletic big, so he was just catching lobs, dunking, running the floor.”

Porter described the Serbian center’s laid-back approach.

“And Joker’s just wobbling around like not really caring, nonchalant, and he’s not really killing in training camp”, he added. 

The regular season began, and Jokic quickly changed Porter’s mind by putting up huge numbers and proving the Nuggets right.

Porter said, “And then we get to the season, and he’s going crazy.”

For Porter, the biggest lesson was simple: Jokic looked relaxed in training camp but became a completely different player when the games mattered.

Numbers of Nikola Jokic Eventually Made the Point 

The story becomes even more interesting when we look at Jokic’s career stats. Jokic's regular season stats on ESPN show that his numbers improved after his early years in Denver. He eventually became one of the NBA’s best all-around players.

In 2025-26, ESPN lists Jokic at 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game. He averaged a triple-double while shooting 56.9% from the field.

These numbers explain why Porter’s early doubts seem surprising. Jokic looked relaxed in training camp, but he played at a much higher level once the regular season began.

Porter also explained how Jokic could produce in many different ways during the season.

He recalled, “One game he’ll have twenty rebounds, next game he’ll have fifteen assists, next game he’ll have thirty, the next game after that he’ll have all those combined.”

For Porter, the lesson was clear: Nikola Jokic was not overhyped. Porter had simply misunderstood him at first. MPJ’s story shows that Jokic’s talent was not always obvious.

His calm training-camp style looked ordinary, but real games showed his elite scoring, rebounding, and playmaking skills.

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Written by

Kapil Manghnani

Kapil Manghnani brings over 4.5 years of experience in sports journalism, covering a wide range of sports, including Soccer, NHL, Tennis, Gymnastics, NASCAR, Swimming, and more. He has written for leading sports platforms, producing everything from breaking news and features to in-depth analysis, opinion pieces, long-form stories, and short-form content. Beyond articles, he has also scripted long-form storytelling videos for YouTube channels. His work focuses on delivering well-researched, engaging, and reader-first sports content across multiple formats.

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Edited by

Rudra Dubey