Michael Porter Jr. was rejected.
The Nets forward had been calling to make his first All-Star Game a dream, and he had a great thing going during a career year.
But he was one of the most glaring omissions on Sunday and was not among the Eastern Conference’s seven reserves.
Porter – who sat out Sunday’s Nets game against Detroit – is averaging 25.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, along with 3.8 three-pointers, all career highs.
He joined Lakers star Luka Doncic as the only players in the NBA to average 25 points, seven boards and three 3s, but that didn’t earn him an invite to the Feb. 15 All-Star Game in LA.
“It would definitely be a dream come true,” Porter had said in December. “As a kid, I thought about making it to the NBA, but not just playing in the NBA, but being one of the best players in the NBA. And an All-Star selection shows that progress.”
That progress is undeniable, even if Porter has been dismissed for the time being. It is possible that he will be appointed as an injury replacement later.
“He’s playing at an All-Star level. If you like watching basketball, I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy watching Michael play,” Jordi Fernandez said.
The East nods went to Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Johnson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Norman Powell, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Duren and Pascal Siakam.
The latter plays for an Indiana team that was just 13-36, a game worse than Brooklyn’s 13-34 mark on Sunday.
The reserves are chosen by the coaches, who generally favor team success; but with Siakam being favored over Porter, the win-loss record wasn’t the whole story.
On a rebuilding Nets team with five rookies, Porter has had to play a different role and face different challenges in this career-best year.
“Now I’m the leader of the team and I help lead young guys, 19-, 20-, 21-year-olds, and teach them about winning, winning habits, winning culture, a lot that I learned from my time in Denver,” Porter said Thursday. “Now I’m going to be able to share that with young guys, young talented players who are going to be in the NBA longer than me. So that’s pretty cool, I think.”
It’s possible Porter could still be included in the All-Star Game as an injury replacement for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was named the starter.
“Just look at what we look like when he’s on the field versus when he’s not on the field,” Nic Claxton added recently. “He does so much: he creates so many chances for himself and for teammates. His averages are off the charts. So he should definitely be an All-Star.”
Porter missed his second straight game in Detroit on Sunday, but unlike Antetokounmpo, he was not injured.
He was out for personal reasons.
But just because Porter mentioned his name in several trade rumors — and the trade deadline was Thursday at 3 p.m. — it didn’t mean his departure.
His grandmother recently passed away and after playing against the Nuggets on Thursday, Porter missed the games Friday at Utah and Sunday at Detroit.
Porter – who has been dealing with a sore knee – bounced back from a season-low nine points on 3-for-11 shooting in the Jan. 25 loss to the Clippers to start this five-game road trip with his two best performances as a Net.
The veteran forward scored 36 points on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range last Tuesday in Phoenix.
Porter then followed with 38 points – one shy of his career high – on 7-for-15 from deep in Thursday’s return to Denver.
It remains to be seen if Porter will rejoin the Nets for Tuesday night’s game against the visiting Lakers at Barclays Center.
It’s also unclear if he’ll be the injury replacement for Antetokounmpo on Feb. 15, or if he’ll even be in Brooklyn last Thursday.
But league executives increasingly expect Porter to be a Net.
Will the league now see fit to make him an All-Star?
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