Answering Your Questions // Michael Porter Jr.

00:00:00.520 | What's up y'all, it's Curious Mike out here walking around in New York.

00:00:04.500 | Today I'm going to be answering some of y'all's questions.

00:00:07.060 | We put a post on my Instagram story telling y'all to ask whatever you wanted.

00:00:10.980 | So my guy Sean and my guy Nicodemus went through the questions and found some good ones.

00:00:16.900 | So that's what we're going to be doing today, answering some of y'all's questions.

00:00:19.280 | So first up for this cardio and questions section, since we're going to be walking for a little bit.

00:00:24.600 | So somebody asked, what is it like expressing and sharing your faith with your teammates?

00:00:30.640 | It's a really good question.

00:00:32.020 | Yeah, that was something I tried to get better on, I feel like, as time went on in Denver.

00:00:40.800 | I had some really good teammates that kind of were really good at that.

00:00:44.420 | Justin Holliday was really strong in his faith.

00:00:47.280 | This past year, I got really close with Hunter Tyson and PJ Hall.

00:00:53.800 | So I invited them over to a Bible study.

00:00:55.940 | We were doing a little Bible study with the pastor in Denver, Sean Johnson.

00:00:59.960 | That was dope.

00:01:00.660 | Peyton came over one time, Julian.

00:01:03.920 | And actually me and Jamal spoke a lot on faith.

00:01:07.500 | You know, he's really taking leaps and taking that seriously.

00:01:11.360 | And we would have really, really deep talks sometimes after tough games or whatever on what's important.

00:01:16.840 | So I kind of got to speak on a lot about that with a lot of my teammates.

00:01:20.940 | Even Aaron Gordon, you know, we had some good conversations as well about that.

00:01:25.340 | So it's something I feel like I got to get out of my shell on a little bit, you know.

00:01:28.980 | But I feel like with these young guys over here, that's definitely going to be a priority of mine is just talking about real stuff, inviting them to church.

00:01:38.860 | I got to find a good church out here.

00:01:39.980 | So if y'all got any recommendations, let me know.

00:01:41.680 | But that's definitely a thought of mine for sure.

00:01:44.700 | Next question.

00:01:46.120 | Since you mentioned, you know, finding a church here in New York, somebody asked, is there anything you're excited about in New York besides the basketball?

00:01:57.380 | Yeah, I'm excited about a lot.

00:01:58.940 | Obviously, the basketball comes first and foremost.

00:02:01.680 | The opportunity to be a leader on this team and expand my game and, you know, help rebuild this program.

00:02:06.620 | And being a winner and having won in Denver for so many years, I feel like it'll be dope.

00:02:12.440 | You know, I know Jordy doesn't want to lose.

00:02:14.080 | You know, I know him very well.

00:02:16.000 | So I'm excited about that.

00:02:17.360 | But off of the court is honestly, when I heard I was getting traded here, that was what was really like, man, I'm about to be in New York.

00:02:24.320 | I feel like there's so many opportunities here, especially taking this Curious Mike thing seriously.

00:02:28.520 | I feel like there's a good, there's a lot of areas of growth.

00:02:33.060 | So I would say the Curious Mike thing, being able to expand that out here in New York City, but also the food.

00:02:40.700 | I couldn't wait to get out here.

00:02:42.040 | Got the best food in the world.

00:02:43.520 | You know what I mean?

00:02:44.140 | They say the dollar pizza is fire out here.

00:02:47.420 | I haven't tried it yet, but they say you could pay a dollar for a slice of pizza that'll blow your mind.

00:02:51.680 | So I would say the food and then just the opportunity overall.

00:02:54.760 | Perfect.

00:02:56.000 | So speaking of food, somebody actually asked, what is your favorite cheat meal?

00:03:01.760 | And I actually think that in-season Michael and off-season Michael have two different favorite cheat meals.

00:03:09.180 | So talk about what's your favorite in-season cheat meal and your favorite off-season cheat meal.

00:03:13.800 | Ah, that's, it's a lot of good cheat meals, man.

00:03:19.160 | Like, I didn't have to, used to pay attention to it as much, but now I'm 27 and it's crazy.

00:03:25.120 | I still feel really good, like, but it's different than 19.

00:03:28.460 | At 19 you can eat whatever you want and still jump out the gym and be cool.

00:03:33.100 | But I've started to notice the difference in my energy levels when I eat a certain way and when I don't.

00:03:38.660 | But I still get my cheat meals, and I think the time to do it is after a game, like right after a game.

00:03:44.160 | So you have the whole next day to kind of eat healthy again and put the right fuel in your body.

00:03:48.420 | So I would say my favorite cheat meal is Wingstop, ordering a 10-piece.

00:03:54.080 | I'll probably get five wings with the lemon pepper, five wings with the hot honey rub.

00:03:58.060 | And I'll order the room service veggie burger from the Four Seasons with their fries.

00:04:04.400 | And that's, that's a good cheat.

00:04:06.240 | And then a root beer float.

00:04:07.160 | I like a root beer float.

00:04:08.940 | I've been drinking those since I was a little kid.

00:04:11.540 | So that's, that's my favorite cheat meal.

00:04:12.800 | But in the off season, I'm curious to see what you think the difference is.

00:04:17.400 | I would say I also, I love breakfast foods.

00:04:20.360 | I love French toast, pancakes, all that.

00:04:23.360 | That might not be considered a cheat meal, but what do you, what was your?

00:04:26.020 | I just think because when we travel, we travel so much during the off season that we're able to try out new places.

00:04:32.940 | I would say it's probably a, you go crazy with the Italian in the off season for sure.

00:04:40.700 | But that's not a, that's not a cheat meal though.

00:04:42.580 | To me, pasta, like remember I did that gene test and the carbs cycle through my body good.

00:04:47.380 | So I actually, I did a gene test where it shows how different stuff digesting your body.

00:04:53.480 | And they said my body absorbs carbs.

00:04:54.980 | So I'm always eating a lot of pasta, rigatoni, vodka, spaghetti.

00:04:58.960 | I've recently gotten into the truffle pastas too.

00:05:02.400 | It was a fire out in Italy.

00:05:03.920 | I was, I was trying all types of different pastas.

00:05:06.740 | So yeah, I don't consider that a cheat meal though.

00:05:09.600 | All right.

00:05:10.660 | Next question.

00:05:11.740 | What is your favorite childhood memory?

00:05:15.180 | My favorite childhood memory.

00:05:19.900 | I would say for those of you that don't know, I grew up with seven siblings.

00:05:24.560 | I got two other sisters, then there's me.

00:05:26.540 | And then I got four younger brothers and a little sister.

00:05:29.380 | So we grew up homeschooled.

00:05:31.680 | My mom homeschooled all of us.

00:05:34.820 | You know, my dad worked.

00:05:37.140 | He was doing the ministry thing, doing some rapping.

00:05:40.040 | So he worked a little bit, but my mom was a stay-at-home mom and we got to just be homeschooled.

00:05:44.720 | So my favorite memories is like doing a subject in school, then being able to go out and just hoop and take breaks in between class.

00:05:54.200 | School only took two hours.

00:05:55.700 | So we had all day, just all, all of us kids, like doing, doing everything from riding our bikes in the, in the neighborhood, shooting in between subjects.

00:06:06.540 | I would just say growing up with that big family dynamic.

00:06:10.360 | I got so many memories, but it was just being able to be home all day and get into something with your brothers and sisters every day.

00:06:17.560 | So that's what I would say.

00:06:19.140 | Okay.

00:06:19.920 | So interesting.

00:06:20.640 | Somebody said, what are some of the myths about the NBA?

00:06:23.800 | Man, I think this was a myth for, for me coming in something I believe, but I think it's also a misconception that a lot of, a lot of people believe.

00:06:35.400 | And it's that everybody like works really, really hard.

00:06:40.520 | I think like you have to, you have to be talented and you have to be gifted and you have to work hard to get here.

00:06:47.020 | But a lot of people are, don't work on their game.

00:06:50.640 | Don't work on their bodies.

00:06:51.720 | Don't work on staying healthy.

00:06:53.160 | Don't put the time in recovery as much as you would think.

00:06:57.020 | Like I have always been, as you know, super, super like dedicated and I love to work hard,

00:07:04.420 | but I feel like that's not the case for, for every NBA player.

00:07:10.380 | I think I also was forced into it with my injury situation.

00:07:13.480 | I had to take care of my body.

00:07:14.700 | I had to get my recovery in and all that.

00:07:16.880 | But yeah, I think that's the misconception.

00:07:19.920 | Cause even like, even people that I worked with in Denver, I would, they would see me in the gym every night.

00:07:26.580 | And they would say like, man, before I got to the NBA and before I was working with NBA players, I thought, I thought everybody worked hard like you do.

00:07:33.900 | And I was like, me too.

00:07:35.280 | I thought the same thing, but you know, there's a lot of talented players, a lot of gifted players.

00:07:39.860 | But I think that would be the misconception that, that is not always true.

00:07:44.640 | Now you got the dudes that are super dedicated.

00:07:46.340 | Bron has been in the league 20 years.

00:07:48.420 | I've heard 20 some years, his body, like you have the dudes that are tremendous workers, but you also have the dudes that are, that are chilling for real, you know?

00:07:56.920 | And especially sometimes once you get paid, you know, you see guys kind of chill out a little bit.

00:08:01.780 | So if you could interview anybody in the world, who would it be, or maybe even give your top three?

00:08:08.880 | That's a, that's a good question.

00:08:12.940 | Anybody in the world who I could interview right now, I would say I've always wanted to interview Jim Carrey.

00:08:20.360 | Cause I just appreciate not only his comedy and stuff like that, but his perspective on things, you know?

00:08:26.120 | When he got the award, like some big award he got, his speech was so funny, but it was so like true.

00:08:34.640 | And the things he was talking about, I'll, uh, I'll have Sean put the video of what I'm talking about on here.

00:08:39.820 | But so I think Jim Carrey, I think, um, right now, cause of the day and the day and place we're in now, I would say like some creator of AI.

00:08:50.640 | I want to know, I want to ask them questions about the future of AI and how serious this thing is going to be.

00:08:56.100 | And how advanced AI is, I've always been intrigued with that.

00:08:59.340 | And then, um, who would be that third person?

00:09:04.820 | I would have to think about it, but, um, those would be two people I'm super interested in interviewing.

00:09:10.200 | Oh, and then, uh, I want to interview.

00:09:14.180 | And we've actually had conversations about doing this interview, Lil Bibby, um, out in LA.

00:09:18.320 | I see him at the gym all the time.

00:09:19.840 | And I want to talk about his transition from the rapping to being like a businessman and, and, you know, owning a label and all that stuff.

00:09:26.200 | I'm super intrigued when people transition from one thing to the other.

00:09:29.680 | So, uh, Lil Bibby would be another, another person I would want to interview as well.

00:09:33.480 | All right, Mike.

00:09:35.420 | So somebody asked, what is your biggest inspiration and what keeps you driven when you feel stagnant?

00:09:44.400 | Yeah, I feel like inspiration used to come super easy to me.

00:09:48.500 | It was just to be the best basketball player I could be.

00:09:50.300 | And that, that kind of drove me.

00:09:51.660 | But now I've been in the league eight years.

00:09:53.680 | You know what I mean?

00:09:54.240 | I've, I've dealt with some, some hard injury stuff to get over.

00:09:59.040 | And, um, I've kind of had to change my game and I kind of had to change what motivates me.

00:10:04.040 | So now what motivates me like on the court is, I think that you learn your greatest lessons as a human being through trials and tribulations.

00:10:17.180 | And that's been my life and that's been my basketball career, my NBA career.

00:10:21.520 | So I think now what motivates me every day is just, I know it's hard.

00:10:25.520 | I know it's hard to, to play all 82 games.

00:10:28.340 | I know it's hard to, to do all these things, but I feel like now the hard things I embrace and I pursue them.

00:10:35.820 | And basketball, after the injuries, I'm telling you, like, it has not been easy to stay healthy the way I have.

00:10:42.220 | It's not easy, but I think that the, the hard things grow you the most.

00:10:46.920 | And then I think basketball is also a teacher, like of, it's like a teacher of life because you have a bad game and you, and you have to reflect on.

00:10:57.640 | There's so many different things, you have a good game, you have to balance those highs and lows.

00:11:00.720 | Like a lot of people's jobs, I would say, are like, emotionally, they're pretty similar every day.

00:11:09.120 | Like a basketball man or an athlete or I'm sure there's other careers like this, but there's so many highs and lows.

00:11:14.600 | I appreciate the, the fact that I get to navigate those things and just grow as a human.

00:11:20.800 | And so that's an, that's an inspiration for me.

00:11:23.240 | Y'all can walk by.

00:11:24.220 | Y'all good.

00:11:24.620 | Yeah, yeah, yeah, y'all good.

00:11:25.540 | Nah, y'all good.

00:11:26.840 | Um, what was the second part of that question?

00:11:29.680 | What keeps you driven when you feel stagnant?

00:11:32.800 | What keeps me driven when I feel stagnant?

00:11:35.460 | I think you kind of answered that too, because I know we've talked about that a lot.

00:11:38.780 | You said, like, just the drive to stay healthy.

00:11:41.940 | Yeah.

00:11:42.580 | You know what I mean?

00:11:43.020 | Because you can't get too high or too low from the games because, you know, you've had three surgeries.

00:11:48.380 | So your health depends on your daily disciplines and not letting your emotions drive you from day to day.

00:11:55.260 | Yeah, that's a fact.

00:11:56.300 | And I also think that a gift of mine, I think a gift of any successful person is ignore, learning how to ignore your feelings.

00:12:02.100 | Like at the end of the day, that's what it boils down to.

00:12:05.060 | Like if you want to be great in life or you want to be successful, you got to like be able to, I'm not even going to say navigate your feelings.

00:12:13.400 | Sometimes you got to ignore your feelings, bro.

00:12:15.060 | Like that's the simple truth of the matter.

00:12:16.900 | So for me, if I'm feeling low, if I'm feeling down, I don't really want to go do this or get in the gym or take care of my body.

00:12:24.220 | I just sometimes have to seriously ignore that and just do what I got to do.

00:12:28.920 | But that's a muscle that you have to strengthen.

00:12:32.600 | That's something you strengthen by doing hard things.

00:12:35.680 | It's days out.

00:12:36.460 | You do the same thing.

00:12:37.600 | You don't want to wake up and the first thing you do is go get a cold tub in your garage in the wintertime.

00:12:42.560 | But as you do hard things, like I feel like you strengthen that muscle to be able to do those things.

00:12:49.600 | Like Andrew Huberman had an interview with David Goggins, actually, and he spoke on the fact that there's a part in your brain that only grows when you do things you don't want to do.

00:13:00.720 | That's the only time it grows.

00:13:03.700 | And that's kind of true.

00:13:04.640 | So he said that part is they see that it's bigger in athletes because we and pro athletes, we get used to ignoring our feelings.

00:13:11.260 | And I feel like normal people, they probably haven't developed that that, you know, that sheer determination and will like pro athletes probably.

00:13:20.400 | But I think anybody probably can.

00:13:22.200 | You know, it's funny.

00:13:23.460 | You have some very loyal followers because somebody asked, will you ride your bicycle to the arena?

00:13:30.080 | So I guess word got out that you were riding your bike to the arena from time to time.

00:13:34.100 | Honestly, I'm glad they asked that because in New York, you could be a mile down the road.

00:13:42.460 | It'll take 30 minutes.

00:13:43.460 | You know, you might be better off walking and so you're for sure probably better off riding your bike.

00:13:50.660 | So that's definitely something that I'll think about doing.

00:13:53.300 | Every time I've ordered an Uber Eats order so far has been somebody pulling up on a bike.

00:13:58.440 | So that might be something I do.

00:14:00.300 | I know out here it gets really cold, probably some snow.

00:14:03.520 | So it might be hard during some of the season.

00:14:05.720 | But I definitely think that that might be a possibility.

00:14:09.320 | Getting on my bike, the arena is only a couple miles away from me.

00:14:13.240 | So I'll think about it.

00:14:14.500 | All right, Mike.

00:14:15.840 | So what are your favorite things to do outside of basketball?

00:14:20.180 | I don't do much.

00:14:23.020 | Like some of my brothers got hobbies and I've always envied people that have a lot of hobbies

00:14:30.120 | and a lot of things they like to enjoy doing.

00:14:32.040 | I just like to chill.

00:14:32.920 | If I got a good show in my life, I love watching a good show.

00:14:37.000 | I'll binge that.

00:14:37.740 | I love hanging out with my family.

00:14:40.940 | I do love reading books, even though I'm not consistent doing it all the time.

00:14:44.340 | But I do love reading a good book.

00:14:45.980 | Travel, bro.

00:14:48.020 | You've really, really picked up your travel game.

00:14:50.940 | Yeah, I do love travel.

00:14:51.680 | I just hate the process of getting somewhere.

00:14:53.420 | But when I'm there, I do love traveling.

00:14:55.580 | But I hate the process of getting on a 10-hour flight.

00:14:58.920 | Besides that, I'd be chilling.

00:15:03.200 | I don't do much.

00:15:04.120 | But honestly, though, this Curious Mike thing, like the vlogging that I've been doing, you know

00:15:08.340 | what I mean?

00:15:09.700 | Even stuff like this, like this feels like a passion for me.

00:15:12.280 | This feels like something where I get to share my story.

00:15:15.040 | I get to create my own narrative.

00:15:16.380 | And I get to interact with people that follow me.

00:15:20.980 | And it's been something that I feel like has given me a new sense of, like, purpose and passion for.

00:15:26.660 | So I'm excited about this for sure.

00:15:28.000 | What is your best non-basketball memory or experience from your time in Denver?

00:15:35.420 | My best memory or non-basketball experience from my time in Denver?

00:15:42.940 | I have so many.

00:15:45.560 | I would say, I mean, do you count the parade because it had to do with basketball, huh?

00:15:54.360 | Nah, I said non-basketball.

00:15:55.300 | I mean, but there's so much.

00:15:56.880 | People don't realize, like, you grew up in Denver.

00:15:59.420 | You got drafted by Denver.

00:16:00.860 | You've been there for the last seven years.

00:16:03.300 | So, like, you became, like, you walked into your manhood in Denver.

00:16:07.280 | So there's so many different things that you've experienced there.

00:16:09.760 | Yeah, I have.

00:16:10.580 | I mean, I think, honestly, it was, we got to play on Christmas every year.

00:16:16.360 | So my family would come out for Christmas.

00:16:18.380 | And those times when my family would all come, it'd be ten people in my little, in my spot in Denver.

00:16:25.080 | And we would just celebrate Christmas, open up the presents, everybody would come to the game.

00:16:29.040 | Those Christmases in Denver with the family were dope.

00:16:32.760 | Other than that, I would say, like, the relationships I've built, and I guess it has to do with basketball, but not really.

00:16:41.120 | I would say, like, I was here for so long that the only two people that were on the team by the time I got traded were Jamal and Nikola.

00:16:49.640 | Like, so I've gone through so many different teammates, and that's the life of a lot of NBA players.

00:16:55.180 | But, like, I remember my times with Monte Morris and Will Barton.

00:16:59.380 | You know, those were my guys.

00:17:00.820 | I remember getting mentored by Paul Millsap.

00:17:03.500 | I remember, you know, that kind of transitioning.

00:17:05.880 | And then Jeremy Grant came, and I got real close with him, and we were in the bubble together chopping it up.

00:17:11.040 | And then, you know, Vando, Vando and Tori, you know, and I've – and then now, like, all these guys, Julian, Peyton.

00:17:18.280 | Like, I just – I feel like I've made some of my best connections and best friends through the people that have come through Denver.

00:17:25.000 | And so –

00:17:26.620 | Donnie?

00:17:27.040 | Donnie the Miz?

00:17:28.160 | Yeah, Donnie, he pulled up to a game.

00:17:30.500 | So I feel like that's got to be it.

00:17:32.480 | The relationships I've built during the times are different.

00:17:34.380 | All right, next question.

00:17:36.800 | Somebody asked, what's something you weren't prepared for, good or bad, that comes with the NBA lifestyle?

00:17:43.000 | People might not believe me on this, but, like, I never – I literally never played basketball with the thought of one day I'll be playing for, like, a lot of money.

00:17:52.720 | Like, I always just played because I loved it and I wanted to be the best.

00:17:56.700 | So I had no even concept of what it would be like to have money and to be able to take care of my family and to, like, be able to do things I wanted to do.

00:18:05.280 | I didn't know what it would be like to be able to go to dinner and spend $250, $300 on a bill, and that would be okay.

00:18:12.700 | Like, I remember calling my mom, like, the first week when I got my first few checks or whatever, and I was like, wait, mom, so, like, I'm good to go – to go get –

00:18:22.860 | Like, I'm good every day if I wanted to this week to go out to dinner and spend $200.

00:18:26.080 | And she was like, yeah, Michael, like, that's okay.

00:18:28.580 | And you know my mom, like, she still to this day wants me to be very frugal and whatever.

00:18:34.200 | But that wasn't even a concept in my head that I would have money to do stuff with.

00:18:38.420 | Like, for some reason, there's, like, a misconception out there that I grew up with money or whatever.

00:18:43.320 | But, like, my – I'm in a family of 10.

00:18:46.580 | My dad was the only one that worked, and he made $30,000 a year.

00:18:49.860 | And my mom was a stay-at-home mom homeschooling all of us.

00:18:52.240 | Like, my mom would pull up to Panera and wait to the end of the day so they could give her the leftover bagels that they were going to throw out.

00:18:59.780 | So – but the thing is, like, we never felt – we didn't feel like we were broke, but, bro, we were broke.

00:19:04.600 | Like, my mom and dad did such a good job of making us feel like we had everything in the world and everything we needed.

00:19:09.540 | But we were broke.

00:19:11.420 | You know what I mean?

00:19:12.140 | And $30,000 a year for 10 kids, like, I don't know where that misconception comes from that I grew up, like, with bread.

00:19:19.000 | But that was my biggest thing that I didn't really prepare for was the fact that I'm going to have money.

00:19:24.320 | I'm going to be able to take care of my mom and dad.

00:19:25.860 | I'm going to be able to buy them a car.

00:19:27.120 | I'm going to be able to go to dinner when I want and not worry about the bills.

00:19:31.720 | So that was, like, obviously a good surprise.

00:19:35.780 | And then, you know, something that's kind of a bad thing that I didn't really prepare for was kind of the loneliness you feel a little bit just through the process of the season.

00:19:46.660 | All the traveling, all the nights in the hotel alone, all the – it is isolating.

00:19:52.660 | Like, you do feel very isolated, especially probably when you don't have a significant other and you don't have somebody that's traveling with you on the road.

00:20:00.040 | Like, most of my friends at this point are married and got kids.

00:20:03.040 | Even my two younger brothers, they're married, my sisters are married, got kids.

00:20:06.000 | So besides you, I never had anybody, like, pulling up on me.

00:20:09.220 | You know, I don't have a lot of friends.

00:20:12.980 | So I feel like the isolating fact of that can be kind of tough, I would say that.

00:20:18.640 | I would say the fact –

00:20:20.400 | I would even add to that, bro, because your experience is different.

00:20:23.080 | If you had three surgeries and you're having surgeries in the midst of the NBA season.

00:20:28.020 | So, like, sometimes where you have that brotherhood, you're traveling with your teammates, you have them.

00:20:33.520 | You're staying back in Denver because you're doing rehab.

00:20:35.740 | Or we're in Dallas because we're at Dr. Doss' office and you're having surgery.

00:20:40.120 | So even within – you know, most people have their teammates to lean on sometimes.

00:20:44.780 | You didn't even have that at moments.

00:20:46.360 | Yeah.

00:20:46.860 | Yeah.

00:20:47.320 | And I think also the fact that I was homeschooled growing up, I didn't make a lot of relationships growing up.

00:20:54.140 | I got a few homies that are still my friends to this day.

00:20:56.500 | But, like, I think that's another thing is I just never was a dude that had a lot of friends.

00:21:01.380 | I had my family and that was really all I needed.

00:21:04.180 | So I think the isolating fact about the NBA would probably be the thing that I didn't prepare for.

00:21:10.120 | All right, Mike.

00:21:11.660 | So somebody asked, have you gone to a Liberty game yet at Barclays?

00:21:18.100 | Man, it's getting hot out here.

00:21:19.260 | That's why we had to sit down, y'all.

00:21:20.540 | I think it's like 95 degrees out here.

00:21:23.420 | But, no, I haven't pulled up to a Liberty game yet.

00:21:26.600 | I pulled up to the arena yesterday and I saw they had the floor out there.

00:21:29.760 | And they were telling me how lit the Liberty games are.

00:21:33.000 | Like, I guess they're cracking probably more than our games.

00:21:35.920 | So we got to fix the culture around here, get people pulling up to our games.

00:21:40.420 | But I heard they're dope.

00:21:42.180 | I want to get Breonna Stewart or Sabrina on the podcast at some point.

00:21:46.380 | But I'm definitely going to pull up.

00:21:48.040 | What's one lesson you've learned that changed how you approach life or basketball?

00:21:53.700 | I think something that has changed over the years is, like, basketball came so easy for me for a number of years.

00:22:03.740 | Whenever I first started getting good, I remember I first got ranked at 25.

00:22:07.700 | And then I got better and better every year until I was the number one player in the world for my age.

00:22:11.840 | And it just came easy to me.

00:22:13.380 | Like, I didn't have to, like, go through a lot of trials and tribulations.

00:22:17.220 | And then the injury stuff started happening when I went to Mizzou.

00:22:19.840 | And I feel like that going from, like, the top, you know, when I committed to Mizzou, attendance went up.

00:22:28.360 | Like, people were attending college just to – and this was my strength coach at Mizzou.

00:22:33.520 | That's how we met.

00:22:34.320 | So, he knows, like, it was lit.

00:22:35.820 | Like, people were so excited.

00:22:36.960 | Attendance at the school went up.

00:22:38.900 | Like, the moment I signed, season tickets sold out.

00:22:42.000 | And to go from that and wanting to go and put on a show in college and everybody just, like, you know, super excited about you.

00:22:51.880 | And everybody praising you and adoring you to then having the first surgery, sitting out the year.

00:22:57.240 | Everybody's talking about you.

00:22:58.400 | Everybody's saying all types of things.

00:23:00.660 | Like, I just feel like I learned so many lessons through this whole – my whole career of just injuries and different things like that.

00:23:08.780 | And just people being negative.

00:23:10.940 | But now that type of stuff bounces off me in a way that it didn't used to.

00:23:13.980 | But also, like, it helped me really realize, like, the most rewarding things are the hardest things.

00:23:19.580 | Basketball used to come easy to me, you know.

00:23:21.220 | But, like, I don't know.

00:23:23.680 | I feel like that probably changed so many things.

00:23:28.500 | All my perspective about life is just, like, appreciating the hard things.

00:23:34.140 | Like, I look back now on some of those injury things.

00:23:36.320 | And it wasn't like this at first.

00:23:37.240 | At first, I felt sorry for myself or whatever.

00:23:39.060 | But now when I look back on some of the hard things that have happened throughout my basketball career, I look at them as a blessing in disguise because God molds you through hardships.

00:23:48.440 | He doesn't really – it's hard for him to mold you when everything is just good and dandy.

00:23:53.240 | But when things get hard and you got to lean on him and you got to really, like – that's when he develops you as a person.

00:23:59.140 | And so I have no idea if I'd be the same person, if everything just went smooth for me.

00:24:03.580 | I was one of the best players in the league and I never dealt with any of the hard stuff I've gone through.

00:24:09.280 | I feel like I would be a completely different person.

00:24:12.140 | And that might not be a person that God could use in the same way he can use me now.

00:24:18.500 | All right.

00:24:19.260 | So this next one said valuing education because, you know, you talked about being homeschooled.

00:24:23.180 | Valuing education like you and your family do, how has helping send over 25-plus kids to college in four years through the MPJ Elite program made you feel?

00:24:33.680 | That's dope.

00:24:37.360 | I didn't even know what the number was.

00:24:39.340 | But I think the whole point of MPJ Elite was to give just kids in my area the chance that I had.

00:24:45.840 | I feel like AAU basketball really, you know, helped propel me to where I'm at today.

00:24:52.600 | And, you know, you had Mocan Elite, which is where me and Trey – which is where me and Trey played on, the team me and Trey played on.

00:24:59.100 | And then you had the St. Louis Eagles.

00:25:00.320 | I felt like there wasn't another really good program.

00:25:02.720 | So MPJ Elite was just trying to give those kids that were on the fringe of being able to play for high-level AAU teams,

00:25:09.340 | because it was giving them a chance to showcase their talent, get picked up by big schools.

00:25:14.300 | And that's what we've done, and we're continuing to grow it.

00:25:16.620 | And, yeah, I want to continue to do the MPJ thing.

00:25:20.460 | Giving back, man.

00:25:21.340 | I've always said, like, giving to me is way more rewarding than receiving.

00:25:26.520 | Like, you can have all this money and try to pile it up.

00:25:29.020 | If you're not giving back in some type of way, like, what's the point in being successful in the first place?

00:25:34.340 | All right, so somebody asked, what's the difference between MPJ and Curious Mike?

00:25:40.820 | Yeah, I feel like MPJ – I don't want there to be a difference.

00:25:50.120 | I don't want to be like the Black Mamba versus Kobe thing where on the court he's a completely different person than off the court.

00:25:56.120 | I want all of just who I am to be – I want to be consistent as a person in my whole life, and I want it to translate.

00:26:04.680 | But I feel like at this point, MPJ is pretty much just Mike will never swing the rock Porter Jr.

00:26:11.420 | I feel like that's what MPJ is.

00:26:16.520 | And I feel like Curious Mike is probably a little – I don't know, probably just – y'all see more in-depth to what I got going on and who I am than who MPJ is.

00:26:29.140 | I feel like MPJ also, like, Mega Porter Jr.

00:26:33.220 | That was a thing, you know.

00:26:36.200 | Yeah, I don't know.

00:26:39.380 | I don't like the name MPJ.

00:26:40.380 | When people meet me, they're like, what should we call you?

00:26:42.340 | Should we call you Mike, Michael, MPJ?

00:26:44.620 | I'm like, please just don't call me MPJ, you know what I mean?

00:26:47.320 | Yeah, so that might be a little bit of the difference.

00:26:51.400 | And I think, like, that's one of the things that I'm the most excited about with the Curious Mike platform because I really think that people have no idea who you really are as a person.

00:27:01.120 | I think because you're such a transparent person and you – whatever comes in your mind, you're going to say it.

00:27:07.040 | You have no fear.

00:27:07.960 | I think people take little, small sound bites, little tidbits, and run with it and never took the opportunity to really get to know, like, what's the context of what Michael means?

00:27:17.600 | What's Michael actually doing behind the scenes?

00:27:20.820 | What are some of his beliefs?

00:27:21.860 | What are his values?

00:27:22.660 | How is he living life out outside of the court or off the court and all the above?

00:27:26.500 | So I think that people really get to see, like, the heart that you have.

00:27:30.500 | They get to see your passions, your interests, and get to see who you are as a man and who you've become over the last – well, you're about to be on your eighth season in the NBA and really just get to know more about you as a person.

00:27:41.520 | So I'm excited about the Curious Mike platform for that.

00:27:45.200 | So this is an interesting one.

00:27:47.140 | Somebody asked if Mike could do a tattoo tour.

00:27:50.000 | So give the people a tattoo tour.

00:27:52.160 | Y'all want a tattoo tour?

00:27:56.120 | All right, bet.

00:27:56.700 | You want to hold it so I can just talk into it?

00:28:00.060 | So this is the first tattoo I got.

00:28:04.320 | This one right here.

00:28:05.140 | And this means Mikael.

00:28:07.840 | Mikael.

00:28:08.960 | How do Jewish people say it?

00:28:10.700 | Mikael.

00:28:12.200 | Yeah, however you pronounce it, it's my name in Hebrew.

00:28:15.580 | And it means – it's the same name as the archangel in the Bible.

00:28:20.340 | It means one who is like God, but it also means the rhetorical question, who is like God?

00:28:25.380 | Nobody's like God.

00:28:26.700 | So that's my name in Hebrew.

00:28:28.400 | That's the first one I got.

00:28:30.360 | This wolf with the light side and the dark side is talking about, you know, we all have – it basically comes from a story my pops told me.

00:28:41.740 | And basically we all have two wolves inside of us.

00:28:44.320 | We have a light wolf and we have a dark wolf.

00:28:46.340 | And they're constantly in battle with each other.

00:28:48.360 | You know, the light wolf represents joy, peace, all the fruits of the spirit.

00:28:55.260 | Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gratefulness, gentleness, self-control.

00:29:00.620 | And the dark wolf represents, you know, fear, anger, all the negative things.

00:29:05.920 | And basically they're at war every single day.

00:29:09.140 | And then in the story it's like who wins if they're at war every single day.

00:29:14.800 | And the one who wins is the one you feed.

00:29:16.600 | So every day that means feeding the light wolf.

00:29:19.780 | How do you do that?

00:29:20.500 | You get in your word every day.

00:29:21.760 | You have friends who motivate you and inspire you.

00:29:24.060 | You listen to the right music.

00:29:26.440 | You know what I'm saying?

00:29:27.180 | And you try to feed that good wolf so that good part of you takes over.

00:29:32.440 | And so that's kind of what that meant.

00:29:36.160 | It doesn't, you can't ignore the bad wolf because we all have it inside of us.

00:29:39.980 | But that's kind of what that tattoo meant.

00:29:43.960 | Love, this was kind of a filler tattoo, but it just, that's what the Bible talks about love probably more than anything else.

00:29:51.580 | It says if you love yourself and you love others and you love God, you know, that's the way to live your life.

00:29:58.020 | So that love tattoo, that's what that means.

00:29:59.980 | This one, this was just my number, my number one.

00:30:03.300 | And it just, it has some internal meaning that I don't really want to get into.

00:30:08.440 | But yeah, I actually switched from number 17, but number one was my first number and it has a lot of meaning to me.

00:30:15.500 | These moons right here come from a quote that says, be like the moon.

00:30:22.700 | You don't need to be full in order to inspire people.

00:30:25.500 | And basically it means like it doesn't matter if you're half full yourself, if you don't feel like you're, you're at your fullest potential.

00:30:32.500 | You don't feel like you're living right all the way.

00:30:34.920 | It doesn't matter if you're in this stage of your life, this stage of your life, or this stage of your life, you can still be beautiful and inspire people.

00:30:40.920 | So yeah, I like that quote.

00:30:43.940 | So that's why I got the moons.

00:30:44.860 | And then also I grew up and my nickname was Moon.

00:30:47.460 | That's my dad's nickname for me was Moon.

00:30:49.340 | Should he stand up so that you can see?

00:30:58.180 | This right here, this portrait was actually came from a dream I had.

00:31:02.380 | I feel like it's, it's one of the only times I felt like I've, I've heard God's voice or, or he's given me a vision of everything.

00:31:08.540 | And it was, and it was me and I was crawling towards him and I had all these chains on, like I was like bogged down with chains actually.

00:31:17.900 | And, um, he was sitting on the bench, like with his head turned towards me and like his arm was around a little girl, you know?

00:31:27.460 | And then like, I just felt like in the dream, he was going to look at me and kind of be like disgusted at me or something.

00:31:33.180 | Um, like I have very lucid dreams sometimes.

00:31:37.680 | So I thought that when he looked at me, like he was going to just turn around and disgust, you know what I mean?

00:31:43.380 | I remember being in the dream.

00:31:44.460 | I was so scared that that's what was going to happen.

00:31:46.140 | But in the dream, he looked at me, like Jesus looked at me and then like all my chains fell off and then he got up off the bench and he, he pulled me over there and he sat me down right next to me.

00:31:55.220 | And he put his arm around me, like in this picture.

00:31:57.560 | And so that's where that came from.

00:32:00.740 | That dream meant a lot to me because it just shows like, yeah, we're all, none of us are perfect.

00:32:04.520 | We all got flaws.

00:32:05.420 | God still loves us and God still is there for us.

00:32:09.040 | And he wants to show that to us.

00:32:11.360 | Over here, you got a verse.

00:32:13.800 | Um, it says, I'm the vine.

00:32:18.120 | You are the branches remain in me and I in you and you will bear much fruit.

00:32:23.720 | Apart from me, you can do nothing.

00:32:25.360 | And that's what my favorite verse is.

00:32:26.920 | Just like I said, like you got to stay connected to the source.

00:32:29.500 | Feeding that good wolf means you got to remain near God.

00:32:33.940 | You got to read your word.

00:32:36.280 | You got to spend time with him.

00:32:37.220 | You got to pray.

00:32:37.840 | And so that's kind of what, uh, what that verse meant for me is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.

00:32:43.380 | Right here, you just got the doves, um, Jesus on the cross and the doves flying around.

00:32:47.900 | You know, the doves represent the Holy Spirit.

00:32:49.540 | So that's pretty self-explanatory.

00:32:51.580 | That tattoo right there, I feel like it's pretty self-explanatory.

00:32:54.620 | And then, um, in the back, you got the big dove with the, uh, with the branches.

00:33:00.380 | They also illustrate the Holy Spirit and then the branches, you know, illustrate peace.

00:33:04.440 | And that happened in the, uh, the Bible story, Noah's Ark, where, um, you know, they sent the dove out and the dove came back with the olive branch.

00:33:13.300 | But then it also represents when the dove descended on Jesus, um, in the river.

00:33:18.280 | I think he was baptizing some people and he descended.

00:33:21.040 | And so the big dove on the back, that's what that is.

00:33:24.380 | And that's a tattoo tour.

00:33:26.180 | I might get some more, but I'm only going to get tatted more, like, if they all mean something.

00:33:29.720 | Man, I'm, I'm cooking out here.

00:33:32.060 | I appreciate y'all asking all these questions.

00:33:34.740 | Cheerios Mike out.

00:33:36.160 | Man, I appreciate y'all.

00:33:38.140 | Um, I'm going to do more episodes like this answering y'all's questions because I value, um, I value y'all and I want y'all to know a little bit more about me.

00:33:46.140 | So this was super dope.

00:33:47.580 | I appreciate y'all tuning in, me and my boy Nicodemus.

00:33:50.200 | So, um, Cheerios Mike out, y'all.

Answering Your Questions // Michael Porter Jr.

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