2018 NBA Draft: It’s time to jump on the Jontay Porter bandwagon

As Michael Porter Jr. remains out injured, his younger brother Jontay Porter has slowly established himself as an NBA prospect.

Jontay Porter wasn’t initially supposed to be at Missouri this season. The younger brother of Michael Porter Jr. was originally a member of the high school class of 2018. Yet after reclassifying, the Porter brothers were teaming up in the SEC. Months later a lot has changed.

Michael was not only supposed to be the main attraction for the Tigers, but one of the premier faces of college basketball and the NBA Draft. He’s yet to play since a collection of seconds in the team’s opener. Since then, his brother Jontay has subtly flashed a plethora of useful NBA skills and put himself on the map.

Look at the 6’11” freshman’s numbers and you won’t see much that blows you away compared to the likes of DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III. Through 21 games, Porter is averaging 7.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in less than 24 minutes per game. However, he is impressively averaging 1.9 blocks and 1.0 steals per game, showing he can make plays on the defensive end.

The other Porter

Outside of standard numbers lies Porter’s true value. He’s more of an eye test and advanced stats darling. Speaking of the eye test, let’s start with his shooting. It’s a mixed bag statistically as he shoots just 31 percent from 3, but over 82 percent from the foul line. That being said, in SEC play Porter is hitting nearly 35 percent from deep. Now, onto the eye test. Check out this 3-pointer in the video below.

Along with great rotation on the ball, what really pops here is his footwork. With such scarce space to operate with near the sideline, look at how quickly Porter moves from his screen to have himself planted and taking the shot. Throughout that same video you see his pick-and-pop potential as well. This showcases his shooting potential and his great footwork.

His footwork is something that also translates to defense and in the post. Porter is solid around the rim, despite not being the most athletic big man. In addition, he’s a rare big man who looks to be a plus rebounder, space defender and shot-blocker. Porter likely will never be elite at any of those, but his combination of all three will make him a strong overall player.

Advanced stats approve

In addition to great footwork, the last thing that pops on tape about him is his feel for the game. How many near-seven foot big men assist on over 16 percent of their team’s possessions when on the floor? Not many. It’s not just assists, as Porter consistently moves the ball quickly and makes very good reads. The player we’re describing here is not transcendent, but he’s an extremely useful small-ball center that fits very well in the modern NBA.

Building off of his assist percentage and staying in advanced stats, his defensive numbers are uncommon. Two very good indicators for a defender are having plus numbers for Defensive Box Plus/Minus (DBPM) and stock rate (blocks and steal rate combined).

Porter ranks 14th in all of college basketball in DBPM. He’s not on Jaren Jackson Jr. and Mohamed Bamba’s level, but still. As for his stock rate, none of the consensus group of freshmen bigs can touch him. Porter is the only one with a steal rate over two percent and block rate over eight percent. In less than 24 minutes a game, Porter is causing a block or steal on 11 percent of all defensive possessions.

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Now, it’s not all peachy. He needs to become a more efficient scorer and shooter. Aside from those concerns though, there’s a lot to like for a freshman who is producing and excelling at mainly the 4, rather than the 5. Porter could easily come back for his sophomore year, but with a much weaker 2019 class that might not be a bad thing.