Why Michael Porter Jr. felt like a ‘hater’ watching Nuggets-Timberwolves playoff series

Michael Porter Jr. expressed conflicting emotions watching the Denver Nuggets. He witnessed his teammates lose in crushing fashion during the NBA Playoffs. Yet MPJ felt like a “hater” in watching the Minnesota Timberwolves beat them.

He explained it during his appearance on the One Night with Steiny Podcast released Wednesday.

“I kind of feel like a hater a little bit. I’m watching the series and I’m like, ‘Those are my guys on the team, I want them to do well,’ but I couldn’t fully cheer for [the Nuggets] because they traded me,” Porter said. “It’s a weird feeling because I feel like a hater, low key.”

"I kind of feel like a hater a little bit. I'm watching the series and I'm like, 'Those are my guys on the team, I want them to do well,' but I couldn't fully cheer for [the Nuggets] because they traded me."

—Michael Porter Jr.

(via @onenightsteiny)pic.twitter.com/2XBJ0NXXvr

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 6, 2026

The past star still feels the sting of exiting the Nuggets. Porter landed with the Brooklyn Nets in a blockbuster June 2025 move. Denver gained a 2032 first rounder plus Cam Johnson once the move became complete.

The trade still rose as an unpopular one among Nuggets fans, though. Porter helped team with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic in spearheading the franchise’s first-ever Larry O’Brien Trophy title of 2023. MPJ averaged 16.2 points per game throughout his Denver career with 6.4 rebounds.

This deal stood as a cost-saving move on Denver’s end, though. Porter became set to earn $40.8 million by 2026-27 from Denver. Brooklyn took on the remainder of that unwanted contract for the 2025-26 season.

He established himself as the new leading scorer in a room filled with as many as five different rookies. Porter hit a career-best 24.2 points per game with the Nets, but couldn’t finish the last two to three weeks of the season with a hamstring ailment.

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