Seven years after the NBA draft, Michael Porter Jr. finally in the Nets spotlight

The 2018 NBA Draft will go down in history as one of the deepest and most talented classes of all time.

Luka Doncic was selected third overall. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped to eleventh place. Jalen Brunson dropped to 33rd. Trae Young finished fifth. Jaren Jackson Jr. came fourth. Mikal Bridges finished 10th.

But at one point, one prospect was rated above all else and was widely expected to be selected No. 1 overall in that year’s draft.

Then Michael Porter Jr. injured. his back in his first appearance at Missouri, limiting him to three college games after undergoing spinal surgery.

Porter fell to 14th overall — despite pleas from Knicks fans, who watched the team select Kevin Knox with the ninth pick — and then underwent another back surgery that sidelined him for his entire first season in the NBA.

But more than seven years after Porter was the final selection of the lottery, the 6-foot-2 forward is playing a leading role for the first time.

“You can see the growth,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandeez said before Friday’s 125-107 loss to the Pistons. “We need him to keep growing.”

Porter, who scored a team-leading 28 points against Detroit, hit the jackpot by landing in Denver alongside Nikola Jokic, the three-time MVP with vision and all-time selflessness.

For six seasons, Porter got open looks in ideal spots — hitting more than 40 percent of his 3s in his career — and played a key role on the Nuggets’ 2023 title team, hitting the boards and using his length.

He was paid like a star — he earned a $172 million extension in 2021 — but was able to take away assets by playing off Jokic and Jamal Murray.

In Brooklyn, Porter — acquired in a deal involving Cam Johnson — is in the spotlight, a 27-year-old veteran on the league’s youngest team, asked to do more than ever before in the role he expected to fill long ago.

Entering Friday, Porter averaged career highs in points (22.4), rebounds (8.4) and assists (3.0).

His 18.3 field goal attempts per game were almost five more than his previous record.

But the increased workload and defensive focus have also led to Porter shooting career-low percentages on field goals (46.9) and three-pointers (33.9), plus a career-worst percentage on turnovers (2.4).

“It’s a challenge,” Fernandez said. “The intensity he plays with is different. Where he was before, it was a different context, not better or worse… He’s touching the ball more. His turnovers are higher, so he has to clean that up a little bit. I like his three-point attempts because he draws so much attention and he gets his teammates open. I just want him to step them up and make good shots because they’re going in. He’s one of the best shooters in the world.”

“You don’t become a leader and a veteran in one day, and we’re asking a guy in the shape of Mike [and Nic Claxton] to be the adults there. They are professional and responsible, but they are forced to grow quickly.”

Going forward, Porter’s importance will only increase after a hamstring injury that will sideline second-leading scorer Cam Thomas for several weeks.

“I’m going to push myself to the limit to handle a bigger load than I used to,” Porter said last week. “I’ve always been someone who can adapt to a situation… As the season goes on, I’ll feel even more comfortable figuring out how to get a good impression against some of these really good defenders.

“It will be a work in progress.”