“Michael Porter Jr is turning into his own player”: Kevin Durant notes how well the Nuggets youngster has developed his scoring skillset

Michael Porter Jr has been on a tear ever since Jamal Murray went down with a knee injury. Kevin Durant gave some heady praise to the youngster.

In truth, it’s quite a common mistake to think Porter Jr has only been good for a short stretch. The 22-year-old averaged 20.3 points per game on 59% shooting in March, before Murray was done for the season.

Porter bumped this up to 23.9 points per game on 55.3% for the month of April, and he’s now averaging 24 points through 5 games in May as well. His increased role in Murray’s absence has proved to be a blessing for the Nuggets.

Michael Porter Jr. last 20 games:

23.5 PTS
7.7 REBS
1.1 BLK
56.3 FG%
44.3 3P%
81.5 FT% pic.twitter.com/zxxAUokaRm

— LegendOfWinning (@LegendOfWinning) May 6, 2021

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This year’s Nuggets have dealt as exemplarily with bad luck as any squad in the league. Their next man up mentality combined with Jokic’s cerebral playmaking talents mean that they’ll always have a great offense around him.

Kevin Durant praises Michael Porter Jr for his improvements this year

Porter has always earned comparisons with Kevin Durant due to his incredible height and style of play. The 6’10” forward towers over most wing players who can guard him. He’s got one of the greenest lights in the league of late, and isn’t loath to let fly from range whenever he has a chance.

KD felt the full brunt of the youngster’s scoring repertoire in the Nets’ game against Denver recently. Michael Porter Jr dropped 28 points on an efficient 11-of-17 shooting performance from the field.

The Nets held on and took their first win in 5 games, but it was a nervy game overall. KD expressed his relief after the game, and he also had some words of praise for Porter Jr:

“Michael Porter is turning into his own player. I hear the comparisons, but he’s his own player.”

Kevin Durant: “Michael Porter is turning into his own player. I hear the comparisons, but he’s his own player.”

— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) May 9, 2021

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KD’s words make a ton of sense. The similarities between KD and Porter are mainly physical. Durant is a more judicious shooter who takes less spot-up shots than Porter. The Nuggets forward is an energetic presence on offense who has a more expansive approach to scoring than KD, who has very measured moves and clear sweet spots.