A former NBA executive predicts that Michael Porter Jr. will be the first All-Star selection

Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. made a strong All-Star case during his first season as the No. 1 option. But will the 27-year-old’s breakout performance on a 12-34 Nets team be enough to earn him his first NBA All-Star appearance?

Former CEO he says yes.

“Brooklyn stinks this year, but Porter? Nope,” wrote The Athletic’s John Hollinger, predicting Porter would be on the team. “He expanded his game in his first season away from Denver, and his off-ball cutting in particular was a huge weapon, even with the demotion from ‘arguably the best passer of all time’ to ‘the worst point guard rotation in the league.’ Porter isn’t just wasting empty calories on a bad team: Watch the tape and you’ll see him screen and pass, defend credibly and generally do whatever it takes to drag an extremely raw and modestly talented roster to the occasional win.

Porter looked like a top offensive option following his trade from Denver Nuggets to Brooklyn.

Will Michael Porter Jr. earn his first midseason All-Star honor for the Nets?

The 6-foot-10 sharpshooter averaged 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists on .482/.398/.851 shooting in 38 appearances. He is one of five players averaging 25-plus points on over 48 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from three, joining Nikola Jokic, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant and Jamal Murray.

Porter has put in top seasons over his last two appearances, he scored 36 points in brooklyn’s 106-102 loss to the phoenix suns on tuesday and 38 points in 107-103 loss to the nuggets on thursday.

Netto’s latest gaudy numbers were far from empty calories. Brooklyn is down 13.2 points per 100 possessions with Porter off the floor, the fifth-highest mark in the NBA among players who have played over 700 minutes, according to CleaningTheGlass. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo (16.7), Lauri Markanen (16.6), Jokic (16.1) and Pascal Siakam (15.0) are higher.

The Nets are 12-26 with Porter in the lineup. They are 0-8 in games he has missed by an average margin of defeat of 16.1 points.

Porter is on the All-Star East bubble along with players like Pascal Siakam, Karl-Anthony Towns, Norman Powell and Derrick White, among others. NBA head coaches select seven All-Star reserves from each conference, which will be announced on February 1.