Could Michael Porter Jr. go from salary dump to All-Star?
To a man, the Nets insist he’s deserving of his first All-Star Game berth. And they admit their record makes him unlikely.
But with voting for the rosters having opened Thursday — and Brooklyn just 7-18 as they host the Heat on Thursday — Porter is in the midst of a career year so impressive he’s forcing himself into the conversation.
Michael Porter Jr. rises up for a layup during the Nets’ blowout win over the Bucks on Dec. 14, 2025. Corey Sipkin for New York Post
“For sure he can be an All-Star,” Day’Ron Sharpe said. “We’ve just got to win more for them to give him the vote.
“I don’t want him to be one of those guys like Bradley Beal was averaging 30 a year but Washington was the worst team in the league. So just try to be around the Play-In and hopefully — not hopefully, he’ll get an All-Star for sure if we’re in the Play-In conversation.”
The comparison was humorous and apt, considering the Nets’ situation.
Porter arrived as a salary dump but has emerged as the featured scorer, excelling off cuts, pin-downs and dribble handoffs to 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.6 made 3-pointers on 49.7/39.9/81.3 shooting splits, the only others matching his production is a cavalcade of stars.
He joins Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Lauri Markkanen and Deni Avdija as the only players averaging 25 points and seven boards. Doncic is the only other one besides Porter mustering three 3s.
Possibly more important, Brooklyn’s offense has cratered without Porter this season.
Their scoring differential without him is in the 96th percentile in the entire league per Cleaning The Glass. Despite the Nets’ losing record, few players have been more impactful.
“Just look at what we look like when he’s on the court vs. when he’s not on the court,” Nic Claxton said. “He does so much: He creates so many opportunities for himself, for other teammates. His averages are off the charts. So he definitely should be an All-Star. We just need to win some more games. But he definitely should be an All-Star.”
Claxton may have benefited as much as any Net from Porter’s presence, blossoming as an offensive hub using dribble handoffs.
Michael Porter Jr. grabs a rebound during the Nets’ blowout win over the Bucks. NBAE via Getty Images
In 552 minutes alongside Porter, he has 88 assists to just 22 turnovers, elite numbers for a center. But in 204.5 minutes without him, that ratio drops to 22 and 15.
“It speaks for itself,” Claxton said of Porter’s impact. “He’s always open. Great cutter coming off the DHOs. He also — not just for me, but everybody — he’s really good at instilling confidence in all of his teammates and being a leader out there for us. And I feel like that’s what All-Stars do.”
With the voting having opened Thursday, fans can start voting for whoever they want, regardless of position. The Eastern and Western conferences get a dozen All-Stars, with the starters voted on by the fans, players, and media, and the seven reserves picked by the league’s head coaches.
Precedent says those won’t go to a player on a losing team, and the Nets are certainly that. Porter has until voting closes on Jan. 14 to buck that trend.
For his part, coach Jordi Fernández stumped for Porter, though not on the basis of stats and impact, but on development and maturation.
“No, everything to me is based on growth,” Fernández said. “So how much this team has grown. You can see it, and you can look at the numbers and how much he has impacted this growth and his own growth. Has he changed from a player that used to do certain things, and now he does other things besides what he did before?
“So his movement creates a lot of attention. His cutting, his shooting has been elite, his rebounding, getting to the free throw line, career-high in assists — all those things are important. Got to clean up a little bit the turnovers, got to up a little bit of deflections, but all those things, he’s playing at an All-Star level. If you like watching basketball, I’m pretty sure you’ll like watching Michael play.”
It’s just a long shot to watch him in the All-Star Game.
