Nets' Michael Porter Jr. explains remaining positive during rebuild

NEW YORK -- Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. had to endure arguably the toughest season of his NBA career as the Nets finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 20-62 record. Prior to coming to Brooklyn in the summer of 2025, Porter had been competing for championships with the Denver Nuggets and he explained how he kept a positive mindset amidst all the losing this year.

"Yeah, I mean, I think with anything in life you can look at it as kind of a half-glass-full or half-empty type of thing," Porter said during his exit interview on Monday. Ever since the 2018-19 season, Porter and the Nuggets had won at least 46 games in each of his seven seasons with the team, culminating with a championship in the 2022-23 campaign. The Nets were a different story this year.

"I think you could look at this season as a negative if you wanted to, but I view it as a stepping stone in a very positive way," Porter continued. "I think we have five young dudes that really showed real growth and really developed. I think I stepped out of a role I've been in for about seven years now in Denver, and I was able to come here and kind of play in a different role. And I think that those things moving forward, you need those things."

Porter, 27, had the best season of his career as he averaged 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 36.3% from behind the three-point line. Porter played so well for Brooklyn in the first half of the season that there were many believing that he would make his first All-Star team, especially when considering how much impact he had on the team's offense.

Porter had his fair share of struggles following the All-Star Break as his shooting efficiency dropped across the board, but the Nets were also dealing with some growing pains amongst the rookie class at the same time. Ultimately, Porter was one of the veterans that head coach Jordi Fernandez and the coaching staff were relying on to speed up the development process for the rookies and he took the time to detail what went into that process.