Denver Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr. pokes fun at ‘jealous’ Atlanta Hawks star

When Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young roamed the sidelines for Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, he made headlines.

But he also made time to speak with his best friend, Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.

“Me and Trae Young have talked a lot,” Porter said via the Free Dawkins YouTube channel on May 29. “He’s jealous since I’m in the Finals and he’s only made the Eastern Conference Finals. We were talking about that in L.A. He came to our last game in L.A.”

The twosome played together on the AAU circuit and was quite the formidable force with each providing a diverse skill set on the basketball floor. They were taken nine selections apart in the 2018 NBA Dradt with Young going No. 5 overall to the Dallas Mavericks and immediately traded to the Hawks and Porter falling to Denver at No. 14 overall due to injury concerns.

Porter also beat Young to the Conference Finals, making it with Denver in 2019-20, one season before Young and the Hawks’ surprise run, a trend Hawks fans may hope continues with Denver’s Finals berth.

The Nuggets were bounced in the first round of the playoffs in five games last season and now find themselves the prohibitive favorites going into the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.

A Heat team the Hawks beat in the first round of this year’s Play-In Tournament.

The Hawks figure to undergo some level of changes to the roster with Quin Snyder now at the helm. But they won four of their final six games in the regular season and were able to get two games off of the East runners-up, the Boston Celtics, in their first-round showdown.

Snyder is the Hawks’ – and Young’s – third head coach in the last three seasons since he took over during the year.

There might be a greater need for continuity than is currently being called for.

Trae Young shouts out Miami Heat’s playoff star

Forward Caleb Martin is the Miami Heat’s third-leading scorer this postseason and just helped send them to the NBA Finals with a 26 points, 10 rebound performance in Game 7 versus the Celtics. That stellar showing was the latest to draw a reaction from Young who has been a consistent admirer of the standouts this postseason.

“Caleb Martin HOOPIN!!!!,” Young tweeted.

Martin averaged 18.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists during the ECF. He shot 58.3% from the floor and 46.2% from downtown. This is his second season with the Heat after he was waived by the Charlotte Hornets.

The 27-year-old Martin is under contract at least through next season.

And for anyone who might be getting hopeful to repeat Miami’s plan, his twin brother Cody Martin is signed at least through the 2024-25 season.