MPJ is the NBA's Most Improved Player and a Future MVP Candidate

Michael Porter Jr. attended the University of Missouri for one year before entering the draft. MPJ was picked 14th overall by Denver despite only playing in three games and making just 10 shots in his entire collegiate career. Additionally, he was selected this high with the knowledge that he would likely miss his entire first season in the NBA as he recovered from a back injury, however that didn’t stop Denver from making Porter Jr. a lottery pick due to his sky-high ceiling that he’s starting to scratch the surface of.

INTERESTING FACTS

1st player to average 15+ PPG & 5+ RPG on 50+ FG% & 40+ 3P% in his 2nd season in NBA history
Had the longest streak of GP (17) with 15+ PTS & 50+ FG% in Nuggets history by 4 GP
Recorded the most PTS over a 2-game span (67) by a Nuggets rookie in team history

Odds vs. MEM: DEN -175 (Spread -4.0)

MAIN TAKEAWAY

MPJ IS THE NBA’S MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AND A FUTURE MVP CANDIDATE

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Despite being out for almost a year in college, and missing an additional season once he got in the league, MPJ was still rated highly on plenty of team’s draft boards and is showing why that was the case this season. In his second season with Denver, he is averaging 18.2 points per game, while shooting an efficient 54% from the field and 44.3% from deep. A lot of the attention has been given to teammates Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray for their fantastic seasons, however, with Murray out for the foreseeable future, it’s now MPJ’s time to shine.

Regardless of what teammates are healthy or not, Porter jr. has been a key reason why Denver sits top-four in the fierce Western Conference. MPJ has started 43/50 games he’s played in and is getting 31.1 minutes per game as he proves he can be durable throughout a full NBA season. His numbers have increased in every major category since last season and he’s shown dramatic improvement from his restricted rookie season. If he stays healthy, MPJ has the skillset to become an MVP candidate in the future, and his significant increase in production should make him the Most Improved Player this year.