Missouri Tigers ex Michael Porter Jr. agrees to max extension with Nuggets, per report

Former Missouri men’s basketball player Michael Porter Jr. has agreed to a five-year designated maximum extension with the Denver Nuggets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Monday.

The deal could be worth up to $207 million if Porter makes one of the three All-NBA teams, according to Wojnarowski. It will be worth $172 million if not.

Porter was the highest-ranked commitment in the history of the Mizzou program, but he only played in three games while dealing with a back injury. He entered the 2018 NBA Draft following his freshman season and was taken 14th overall by the Nuggets.

The Columbia, Missouri, native missed his rookie year while dealing with the same injury but has shown steady improvement in the league since.

The small forward averaged 19.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 44.5% beyond the arc across 61 contests for the Nuggets in 2020-21, just his second season of action in the NBA.

He figures to be a key piece for Denver now, with the contract to prove it.