The Next Generation: Michael Porter Jr.
By Cole Zwicker
Every season the draft brings a fresh infusion of talent to the NBA. In theory this is an even, steady process. In practice, hindsight and historical perspective show that there are borders and boundaries — talent doesn’t just arrive in the NBA, it arrives in generational waves. Sometimes we can’t see these aesthetic dividing lines for decades, sometimes you simply can’t miss them.
The present day NBA appears to be on the cusp of welcoming a remarkable new generation to its forefront — players who are not just incredible but incredibly unique. Players who will not just excel but transform the roles and responsibilities of basketball players as we understand them. Over the course of this week, The Step Back will be examining many of the players who could figure prominently in The Next Generation. Not every player we turn our attention to is destined to be a star, but all could play a role in defining the future of the NBA. Read the whole series here.
The Next Generation: Andrew Wiggins
Could I interest anyone in a 6-foot-10, 215-pound wing with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and a combination of elite fluid and explosive athleticism, who is also a good bet to shoot well? What if I threw in the fact he took a high school program that was last place in its own league in 2015-16 to a state championship and being ranked the No. 1 team in the nation a year later? Still not buying? He’s also been under the tutelage of a former NBA star as his coach, Brandon Roy, and he possesses from all accounts green flag character and work ethic. Given the totality of the circumstances, it’s hard not to buy in on Michael Porter Jr.
The Huskies commit captured the attention of the masses at the U18 FIBA Americas tournament this past summer with shows of athleticism like this.
When paired with fluidity, range and outlier elevation on his jump shot, the always coveted intersection between athleticism and shooting with Porter became clear.
And again.
Porter showcased that intersection throughout local Metro League play this year, laying waste to a competitive league, which includes entrenched powerhouses: the Vikings of Rainier Beach high school and the Bulldogs of Garfield high school, en route to an undefeated season. This was the exclamation point Porter put on the season in the state championship game, throwing an alley-oop to himself off the backboard.
It’s not like Porter didn’t face some stiff competition either. Nathan Hale, Porter’s team, faced off against Marvin Bagley, ESPN’s No. 1 player in the 2018 class, and who many thought was the best team in the nation, the California-based Trailblazers of Sierra Canyon, at the Les Schwab Invitational in December. I outlined the matchup in detail, one that resulted in Porter edging out Bagley for a 67-65 win.
Porter went mano-a-mano with Bagley, and impressively locked him up in stints on defense, getting into Bagley’s body and demonstrating both competitive fire and the transcendent physical tools to outshine another elite athlete. You can normally only evaluate two things at the high school level: elite athleticism/physical tools and shooting. Porter can easily out-athletic and either elevate right over most players he faces, or shoot, or quickly explode by and jump over to finish. Picking out NBA profiles in high school with the enlarged pool is incredibly easy and the matchup is usually so overly skewed in the prospect’s favor that the information isn’t useful. When two titans collide however, and they rarely do, the information has legitimate value. Porter was the best player on the court with a likely future No. 1 pick also on the court, and that means something.
Porter’s game is not without its unknowns. He’s gotten by with his physical tools, athleticism and ability to just elevate over basically everyone at the high school level to this point. He hasn’t shown a floor game yet via handling in traffic, running pick-and-roll and facilitating for others in the half-court in projectable settings yet. It’s not that he can’t do them. It’s that we don’t know yet if he can.
At Washington next year he’ll get a chance to showcase NBA qualities. With Markelle Fultz almost certainly entering the draft, Porter will have the reigns to the wagon that will have produced three first round draft picks in the past two years. Washington has a stacked incoming freshman class with three four-star commits, including local standouts Daejon Davis and Jaylen Nowell, both from rival Garfield. Thus, Porter will likely have far more help than Fultz received this past year, and Washington could actually make the tournament, gaining him more momentum as he likely enters the 2018 draft.
Washington runs NBA-friendly concepts traditionally, with an uptempo transition pace and heavy pick-and-roll in the halfcourt on offense, and a switch heavy scheme typically on defense, all elements of the pace-and-space NBA era. This bodes well for Porter to showcase his athleticism and versatility defensively. If he continues to shoot respectably and can put legitimate ball-skills on film, we’re talking about a generational wing prospect.
Read More: Next Generation — Joel Embiid was worth the wait
Right now Porter is neck-and-neck with unicorn big DeAndre Ayton and international wonder kid wing Luka Doncic in the race for the No. 1 pick in 2018. Porter has the intangibles edge over Ayton’s iffy motor, and a gaping athleticism advantage over Doncic, so it’s entirely foreseeable he’ll hear his name called first by NBA commissioner Adam Silver in June 2018. Porter looks to have all the components of a dynamic modern wing with the ability to kick over to the four in due time with strength addition and cause mayhem there. He’d be the best wing prospect in this current class, and would likely even edge out Fultz for No. 1 pick honors. That’s the kind of prospect we’re talking about here. So get hype.