2 min read • November 30, 2021
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Star Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. will likely miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season after having another surgery on his lower back this week, according to reports.
Mike Singer of The Denver Post reported on Nov. 21 that the 23-year-old was dealing with a nerve issue that would put his season in jeopardy.
Porter Jr., who just signed a 5-year, $172 million contract extension in the offseason, injured his back on Nov. 6 when he botched a wide-open layup with 9 minutes left in the 1st quarter against the Rockets. Despite being in obvious discomfort, he stayed in the game for another 4 minutes before being subbed out and has missed all 11 games since.
The 23-year-old has had long-standing back issues stretching back to his college career, suffering an injury two minutes into his first NCAA game that ultimately led to two back surgeries in Nov. 2017 and July 2018. Expected to be a top lottery pick, he slipped down to No. 14 in the 2018 Draft and missed his entire rookie season because of concerns with his long-term health and a bout of drop foot, which describes when you have difficulty lifting the front of your foot – what appears to happen on his injury this season – and can often develop after back surgeries.
The 4th-year forward’s teammate, Austin Rivers, said in a recent report that he has been playing with pain this season. That would His performance has been lackluster: Porter Jr. has averaged 10.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 36.4% from the field and 21.7% on threes in his first eight games, a far cry from the 19/7.3/1.1 line on 54.2%/44.5%/79.1% shooting he put up in a breakout 2020-21 campaign.
Porter’s loss would be devastating for a 10-10 Denver team that is already without point guard Jamal Murray, who tore his ACL in April 2021 and remains without a return timeline.
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