Michael Porter Jr. dealt with plenty of distractions in the days prior to the Denver Nuggets winning Game 1 of their playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
First, his brother, Jontay, was banned for life from the NBA as a result of his involvement in a betting scandal.
Then on Friday, Porter’s other brother, Coban, was sentenced to six years in prison following a fatal drunken driving crash in Colorado in 2023.
Despite those issues, Porter Jr. managed to go out and score 19 points versus the Lakers and afterwards, he credited his teammates for helping him keep his focus on the court.
“Definitely tried to compartmentalize,” Porter Jr. said following Saturday’s win, per ESPN. “Some bad and sad stuff happened to a couple of my brothers. But, [I’ve got] 15, 16 more brothers in here, so I knew I had to be here for them and come in here and do my job and try to prepare to do it at a high level.”
The win came after Porter Jr. skipped practice Friday in order to testify on his brother’s behalf at his hearing, which was held after Coban pleaded guilty in February to vehicular homicide, as well as vehicular assault.
Prosecutors said Coban, at the time of the accident, had a blood alcohol level of .19, more than twice the legal limit of .08. He was also speeding.
Jontay found himself in the crosshairs of the league due to his involvement in a betting scheme.
An investigation by the league found that Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.”
That investigation is still ongoing.
After Saturday’s game, Porter Jr. said all of his teammates reached out to him following Coban’s sentencing and have been supportive throughout his rough time.
“To have these guys understand why I missed practice yesterday and just had my back has been big for me,” Porter Jr. said. “We’re human. We carry our emotions and things that go on off of the court onto the court, but I’m mentally tough. I’ve been through a lot through my whole career, so you know it was another one of those things I had to play through.’’
Porter Jr., 25, was drafted 14th overall by the Nuggets in 2018 out of Missouri and after being plagued by back injuries in most of his first four seasons in the NBA, set a career-high in games played in each of the last two years, including 81 this past season.
He averaged 16.7 points and seven rebounds per game during the regular season.
