The Denver Nuggets have been among the top contenders in the Western Conference over the past eight years, but a former NBA champion admitted that he barely knew of the team and its superstar player Nikola Jokic.
According to Michael Porter Jr. himself, a member of the Nuggets’ 2023 NBA championship team, he did not know of the Nuggets when he entered the league in 2018. Additionally, he was not familiar with the game of Jokic, who is now a three-time NBA MVP and has been regarded as the best player in the world.
Michael Porter Jr. Is Not Familiar With The Denver Nuggets And Nikola Jokic
GettyLAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – AUGUST 23: Nikola Jokic #15 high-fives Michael Porter Jr. #1 of the Denver Nuggets after hitting a three point bnasket against the Utah Jazz during the second quarter in Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 23, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
“I barely knew the Denver Nuggets were an NBA team,” Porter Jr. said in his appearance in the Bleacher Report’s From The Point podcast. “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.”
Porter Jr., who was drafted by the Nuggets in 2018, said he was hoping Jokic would be outplayed and out-trained by Mason Plumlee during the time.
“So I didn’t really know how good Joker was, but people around the organization kept telling me how good he was,” 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.”
“And Joker’s just wobbling around like not really caring, nonchalant, and he’s not really killing in training camp. But they’re like, no, just wait till you see when he actually wants to. He could score forty a game if he wants to. I was like, man, there’s no way.”
Porter Jr. then realized how great Jokic was during the season, when he was consistently putting up superb numbers to rise into one of the best players in the league.
“And then we get to the season and he’s going crazy. 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. And I’m like, bro, what’s going on,” Porter Jr. said.
“I barely knew the Denver Nuggets were an NBA team. So I get drafted there and they’re telling me,
Michael Porter Jr.’s Time As Nikola Jokic’s Teammate With The Denver Nuggets
GettyPORTLAND, OREGON – JUNE 03: Nikola Jokic #15 and Michael Porter Jr. #1 of the Denver Nuggets react toward the referee in the first quarter during Round 1, Game 6 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Moda Center against the Portland Trail Blazers on June 03, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
His career start in Denver was delayed by severe back issues, causing him to miss his entire first season in 2018-2019 while recovering from surgery, before finally making his regular-season NBA debut on October 31, 2019.
After easing into the rotation during the 2019-2020 season, he then blossomed inside the NBA bubble later that season as a sharpshooting scorer.
He eventually locked in a major role alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, culminating in helping the franchise win its first-ever NBA Championship in 2023 before being traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2025 in exchange for Cameron Johnson.
Meanwhile, Jokic won MVPs in 2021, 2022, and 2024 and has become the face of the Nuggets. Perhaps many consider him the greatest Nuggets player of all time.
Now with the Nets, Porter Jr. was given a main option role with his new team last season, averaging 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game during the 2025-2026 NBA regular season.
Former NBA Champion Admits He Barely Knew Of Nikola Jokic And Denver Nuggets