With the 2026-27 NBA season about to begin, many fantasy basketball leagues are about to begin their drafts with the preseason in the rearview mirror.
Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. appears healthy and ready to go, putting up solid scoring performances in each game he was on the floor.
Julius Randle should be in for a solid fantasy campaign himself, but his presence could also help open up Porter's game in several different ways.
Porter generates most of his offense off the ball, whether he's cutting to the rim or working off of ball screens.
Porter should be a healthy source of points, rebounds, 3-pointers and field goal percentage, but his assists might go down a little bit with Randle, Day'Ron Sharpe, Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Demin all expected to take on considerably more playmaking opportunities this season.
Porter is also a huge injury risk and might be a candidate to sit one game of a back-to-back set, as Porter has dealt with severe back injuries throughout the course of his career.
But then again, Porter played at least 77 games in the two seasons prior to last season, so if the Nets end up becoming more competitive this season, there's a good shot Porter could be willing to play in a lot more games this season.
But because Porter doesn't give you high upside in other categories and is an injury risk, the best place to draft him would probably be in the middle rounds, depending on what your team needs.
In pure points leagues, Porter would have higher appeal, but in categories, you'll need to make sure your team is well-covered in the assists category unless you choose not to prioritize that category.
Porter will pull down a solid amount of boards and can give you at least a steal a night, but he won't provide you many blocks, which isn't ideal if you're choosing to make him your power forward.
But as Porter continues to get acclimated to Nets coach Jordi Fernandez's system, there's a chance Brooklyn could unlock some of the playmaking skills Porter hasn't been able to showcase just yet, especially as he continues to adjust playing within a ball-movement-heavy infrastructure.
Porter will also be playing for a new lucrative contract this season, so there might be some extra motivation on his side to pad his numbers and consistently contribute to winning basketball.
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