Jordi Fernandez demands that Michael Porter Jr. must play in the post-Nuggets era

Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. is starting a new chapter on his basketball journey. After his offseason trade from the Denver Nuggets, that means figuring out how to fit into a team without Nikola Jokic. Many, including Porter Jr., assumed his new role in the rebuilding Nets would lead to a drastic increase in ball-handling responsibilities.

However, instead of reinventing Porter Jr., Brooklyn’s head coach Jordi Fernandez focused on maximizing the 26-year-old’s strengths — size, shooting and movement off the ball. After a fast start, the Nets trade acquisition is playing the best basketball of his career, excelling as a shooter on the move, cutter off the ball and facilitator.

Porter Jr. scored a season-high 34 points on 11-of-18 shooting during Sunday’s 129-106 win over the Washington Wizards and dished out a career-high seven assists for the second straight game.

“You just see the line that he had. An efficient shooter on twos and threes, an efficient playmaker and a very good rebounder. It just makes the team better,” Fernandez said after the game. “He has a plan to get better and show things that he hasn’t done before. And right now, to buy in to finish his cuts, not to play, not to overdo it, to put pressure on the edge, everybody benefits from that. And guess what? Usually, when he does that, he’s the one that benefits from that. So we want this and we need him to play well for the group. I’m very proud of him.”

Over his last six appearances, Porter Jr. is averaging 27.3 points and 3.7 assists on 48/36/88 shooting. He remains one of the NBA’s best shooters from beyond the arc. However, his career bests outside of that didn’t come with flashy isolation possessions or high pick-and-roll reps.

Michael Porter Jr. is excelling in the main offensive role after being traded to the Nets

Instead, Porter Jr. earns a living using his size and shooting gravity on off-ball actions. He sheds pindowns and DHOs for backdoor cuts, creates separation for high-low passes when defenders are blocking over the top, rushes to the edge of breaking balls and finds his teammates when the defense beats him with the ball in his hands.

“When I was in Denver, everybody assumed I just got some of those cuts because of Nikola (Jokic) and his vision. But I’ve always been a cutter, a guy who likes to find easy buckets, use my size around the basket,” Porter Jr. told IES Network after Sunday’s win. “So coming out here, it’s something I set out to do. (Nic) Clacton and Dai’Ron (Sharpe) can really pass the ball, and they’ve found me for a lot of easy points around the rim. So I’ve got to keep doing that.”

Michael Porter Jr. makes his living off backdoor cuts and high and low passes from the Nets’ off-ball actions.

Jordi Fernandez does a good job of using MPJ’s gravity and shooting size to make easy buckets. Nic Clacton and Dai’Ron Shapre have great passing ability, too. pic.tvitter.com/tLFN9sTrZt

— Eric Slater (@erikslater_) November 17, 2025

Porter Jr. maintained his high efficiency with the Nets as he stepped into a leading offensive role. In 12 appearances, he averaged 24.1 points on 47/35/85 shooting with 3.3 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game.

The 6-foot-10 forward shot 55.7 percent from the field, ranking seventh among 17 players who attempt more than 18 shots per game. His +6.7 offensive rating is the fourth highest among all forwards who have played over 200 minutes, according to CleaningTheGlass. And he’s assisting on 17.3 percent of his teammates’ shots, more than double any other season in his career.