Nets Hope Michael Porter Jr. Regains Jordi Fernandez–Era Efficiency in Brooklyn

Michael Porter Jr. has been reunited with Jordi Fernandez.

The two will compete on the same side again three seasons after Fernandez left the Denver Nuggets to become the Sacramento Kings' associate head coach.

Now, Fernandez is the Brooklyn Nets' lead man, and his front office made a major swing for Porter this summer, sending out sharpshooter Cam Johnson in exchange for the 6-foot-10 weapon and an unprotected 2032 first-rounder.

Porter has never been a multifaceted player. He's a fantastic scorer, and his lanky frame grants him the ability to shoot over virtually any defender. This is what Porter's been across his seven-year career.

But when digging deeper into Porter's complete resume, it becomes glaringly obvious that he found more success before Fernandez departed for Sac-Town.

The 2020-21 season stands out the most. Porter posted an elite-level 66.3% true shooting and 64.6% effective field goal percentage with a +5.7 net rating—all of which were career highs. That campaign, unsurprisingly, also merited the highest nightly scoring average Porter has generated (19 points per game).

Perhaps the biggest piece of evidence proving that Porter was better under Fernandez comes on the defensive end. Once the latter exited Denver, Porter's net rating dropped all the way to -1.8, but his offensive numbers didn't fall all that much. His defensive rating, however, fell by two whole points.

Now with Porter in Brooklyn, fans should expect to see a more efficient scorer and better overall defender simply because of who their favorite team's head coach is—and the latter part is huge.

While he was better at scoring prior to Fernandez leaving, Porter was still one of the best pure scorers in the NBA. His improvement on that front may not be extremely noticeable. The same cannot be said on the defensive end.

If Porter can become even just an above-average defender, with his frame, surrounded by players like Nic Claxton, Ziaire Williams, Haywood Highsmith and incoming rookie Drake Powell, the Nets could sneakily emerge as one of the best defensive teams in the league.

Fernandez proved last year that the "Brooklyn Grit" identity works. Once players buy in, the Nets out-hustle and out-scrap you. And in a weakened Eastern Conference in 2025-26 due to injuries and player movement, a highly intense Fernandez-led team with Porter as the offensive focal point could sneak into the play-in.

Much of that depends on the play of the team's rookie class, but Porter and Fernandez have proven how well they work together. Now, they just have to replicate the past's success, and Brooklyn could surprise a lot of individuals.