• Faith: Christian
• Career: Athlete
• Birthday:  June 29, 1998

Born in Columbia, Missouri, Michael Lamar Porter, Jr. didn’t have his sights set on basketball until high school, where he attended Father Tolton Regional Catholic High School. During his junior season at Father Tolton, he went to the state 3A championship game.

He later transferred to Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington. He went to the Pacific Northwest when the University of Washington hired his father as an assistant basketball coach. At Nathan Hale, MPJ led his team to an undefeated season of 29-0 to win the Washington class 3A state championship. That made him a five-star recruit in the eyes of the University of Missouri, where he committed to play in March 2017.

Porter wasn't allowed to practice with the team until February 2018 due to a troubling lower back injury and complicated surgery. His return to basketball wasn't until the first round of March Madness in 2018 when his team lost to Florida State. However, his promising minutes encouraged Porter to declare himself eligible for the 2018 NBA Draft.

Drafted 14th by the Denver Nuggets, Porter only took a couple of months to sign a multi-year contract, understanding the concern about his back. Sure enough, he was slated to have another surgery in July 2018, forcing him to miss the entire season. His first game wouldn’t be until December 2019 against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Then COVID-19 came, and he missed another season. In the “Orlando Bubble,” he scored 37 points in his first game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite the breaks in his development, Denver knew they wanted Porter to be a part of their future, signing him to a 5-year, $172M rookie extension. By 2023, he was a core member of the stellar Nuggets and helped lead the team to a 2023 NBA Championship.

On July 8, 2025, Porter was traded to the Brooklyn Nets.

Michael Porter Jr.’s Religious Beliefs

The 6’10” small forward for the Nets is very much a Christian. He was raised in a Christian home with seven siblings, including a brother named Jontay, who plays basketball.

Basketball isn’t MPJ’s core; that belongs to Jesus.

He speaks of his feelings on faith quite often. In a recent interview with Essentially Sports, he said, “At the end of the day, basketball doesn’t matter. Money doesn’t matter. Fame doesn’t matter. The most important thing is a relationship with God.”

Porter’s faith is a guide to his business and sports decisions. In another interview, he noted his path began in college.

"In college, I finally realized, 'OK, I want to choose Jesus and God. I want to be known as that. I'm not gonna be perfect, but that's what I'm gonna choose.'”