Michael Porter Jr. has had himself quite an eventful summer. The former Missouri star was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 14th pick of the NBA Draft in June — a spot he slid to due to ongoing back issues. Less than a month later, he underwent his second back surgery.
But as he battles the health concerns that have thrown some kinks into his first NBA summer, MPJ has still found a way to enjoy some of the benefits that come with life as a pro.
When a lot of people envision “making it” and striking it rich, they often claim that their first big purchase would involve buying something nice for a parent, such as a car or a house. Apparently that was the plan for Porter Jr., who bought his mom a car to show his appreciation for all she’s done for him over the years.
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Porter Jr. delivered the surprise and captured it on Instagram this week.
He also posted a heartfelt caption along with the video:
“Mom…I love you so much! It’s such a blessing for me to be able to bless you like this, it’s been a dream of mine! You are an angel to me and the most incredible mom in the world. There is so many things you’ve done for us kids that are so selfless of you I can’t comprehend it. I wanna say thank you for stopping your career of being a professional basketball player to raise 8 kids.
“Thank you for being a stay at home mom and homeschooling all of us. Thank you for being the last one to go to sleep and the first one awake. Thank you for the endless amount of clothes and dishes you’ve washed for us growing up. Thank you for all the food you’ve cooked for us. Thank you for making sure we all made it to our AAU tournaments and summer camps even when the money wasn’t always there. But most of all thank you and Dad for raising us to trust God’s word and lean on Him! I know I’m a knucklehead sometimes but I just wanna make you proud.”
Porter Jr. is the oldest son of the eight (EIGHT!) Porter children, but he’s certainly not the only athlete. The two eldest sisters, Bri and Cierra, played for the women’s basketball program at Mizzou, while Porter’s brother Jontay played alongside him for the Tigers.
Since 2017, their father has assisted the men’s basketball team as an assistant coach in the Mizzou athletic department. But he’s not the most impressive basketball parent in the Porter family. No, Lisa Porter deserves that recognition as she was a superb basketball player in her own right. As a high school student, she averaged nearly 60 points per game in her senior season before moving on to star for the women’s program at Iowa, where she was named “Miss Basketball.”
She may have given up the pro dream to become a mother, but she’s become the matriarch of a pretty impressive basketball family. And now she has a brand new car to show for it.