Michael Porter Jr (Photo Courtesy: BSNDenver/Twitter)
Michael Porter Jr. is one of a select number of young men who get to play in the NBA.
As the 14th overall pick in the 2018 draft, he will make millions from the Denver Nuggets.
But the 20-year-old Missouri product, whose college career was shortened by injury but didn’t erase his upside, isn’t particularly concerned with his fame, his money or his opportunities as much as he is something even bigger.
In a video with The Players’ Tribune this week, the rookie small forward recalls the lower-back ailment that kept him sidelined at Mizzou, addressing criticism he faced from fans who believed he was simply sitting out to preserve his body for the NBA. During his polarizing time with the Tigers, who saw Porter Jr. forgo his final three seasons of NCAA eligibility to enter the pros, the Missouri native also paid a visit to a pediatric cancer patient, and he reveals that conversations with her during his own off time helped shape his priorities.
“The world’s a messed-up place and people care about the wrong things,” he says in the video.
His visit with the cancer patient, the late Lizzy Wampler, reminded him that life is about more than even the riches and the success he’s already achieved entering the NBA.
“You see what’s important,” he says. “Like, (Lizzy) wasn’t talking about anything except hoping her friends made it to Heaven. And you know, when you talk about that, basketball doesn’t matter, money doesn’t matter, fame doesn’t matter. It’s just the important things that matter, and that’s a relationship with God.”
He finished the first person account with a Bible verse from James 1:12:
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
"It's just the important things that matter and that's a relationship with God." – Michael Porter Jr. (@mpjr) pic.twitter.com/eJXYQxHagd
Porter Jr., whose Twitter bio says “God first always,” told ESPN in August that he’s “pain-free” after multiple back surgeries and expects to try to take the court early in the Nuggets’ 2018-19 season, which begins Wednesday, Oct. 17, against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Oscar Tshiebwe in April 2026. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST HOSTED BY JASON ROMANO, FEATURING OSCAR TSHIEBWE
Oscar Tshiebwe is an NBA player with the Houston Rockets. He went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2023 after winning the 2022 Naismith Player of the Year award and being named a first-team All-American in 2022 and second-team All-American in 2023. He led all of college basketball in rebounding in ’22 and ’23.
After signing a two-way deal with the Indiana Pacers and then with the Utah Jazz, he led the G League in rebounding in 2024 and 2025. On April 12 in the NBA, Tshiebwe posted a career-high 29 points and 17 rebounds against the L.A. Lakers. He signed with the Rockets as a free agent on July 24.
Today on the podcast, Oscar Tshiebwe returns to the show to tell us about his NBA Draft experience, how he left money on the table in trusting in God’s plan, celebrating the Lord even though he was undrafted, what it means to have courage in the dark, writing a book, and how he has mastered the art of rebounding.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST HOSTED BY JASON ROMANO, FEATURING CORI CLOSE
Cori Close is the head coach for the UCLA women’s basketball team. In her 15 seasons at UCLA, she has 358 career wins, back-to-back Final Four appearances, and her first national championship in 2026.
Today on the podcast, Cori Close joins Jason Romano to share about her experience leading UCLA to the women’s national championship, clinging to Christ during this past season, what it means to abide in Jesus, loving her players well, and the Gospel impact she wants to make with the platform she has.
Nate Ament greets NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Virtually every college basketball program in the country wanted Nate Ament out of Highland School in Virginia. He was ranked No. 4 in his high school class according to 247Sports, and was already projected as a likely lottery pick for the 2026 NBA Draft.
That dream became a reality on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, when the former Tennessee Volunteer was selected No. 13 overall by the Miami Heat. Miami was making the selection for the Milwaukee Bucks as part of Monday’s blockbuster Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.
The 19-year-old’s selection made him the highest-drafted Volunteer since Marcus Haislip in 2002.
When asked by ESPN when his dream of becoming an NBA draft pick materialized, Ament thought back to his childhood.
“When I first started playing basketball with my brothers at the park,” he answered. “Just realizing how much the game means to me, but how much it brought us closer together.”
Ament started all 35 games he appeared in for the Volunteers, missing two due to a leg injury. He averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game and helped lead Tennessee to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight, where the Vols lost to eventual national-champion Michigan. Ament was named to the All-SEC second team as well as the SEC All-Freshman team, and his 584 points were third-most ever by a Tennessee freshman.
Along with Arizona star Brayden Burries, whom Milwaukee drafted at No. 10 overall, Ament joins an overhauled Bucks team looking to bounce back after a 2025-26 season that ended without a playoff appearance for the first time in 10 years.
Ament could’ve played his one year of college ball anywhere, but the 6-foot-10 small forward chose Tennessee partly because he shared a common faith with head coach Rick Barnes, who was in attendance for his player’s big moment. In doing so, Ament became the highest-ranked high school player to ever commit to the Volunteers.
During Barnes’ recruiting pitch to Ament, he referenced the Bible verse Matthew 17:20, which says in part, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.”
Barnes then gave him a mustard seed, something Ament plans to keep forever.
“It meant a lot to know that my head coach is super strong in the faith and someone I can turn to when I’m not necessarily feeling well or I have questions,” he told Knoxville’s WVLT News in March.
In a way, it can be said that Ament literally carries the Bible with him on the court; he wore No. 10 as a nod to one of his favorite verses, Isaiah 41:10.
“Earlier in my career, I was always super nervous before games,” he told a group of reporters in March. “I still am now, to be honest. But that verse always calms me down, knowing that God is my strength and He will raise me up with His victorious right hand.
“To be able to lean on your faith in times of trouble and knowing that — win or lose, good performance or bad performance — Jesus is always going to be here with me kind of just allows me to play more free, more confident. Just trusting in God and not leaning on my own understanding.”
No matter the praise or the scrutiny that comes his way in Milwaukee, Ament said that in all things hopes he reflects Jesus, and His words in Matthew 23:12.
“I kind of come back to the Bible verse a lot, ‘Whoever is humble will be exalted, whoever exalts themselves will be humbled,'” he told WVLT. “So for me, I just want to stay humble as much as possible. And I know that in the end, I’ll be exalted.”
Ament’s first chance to don a Bucks uniform will come next month in the NBA Summer League.
San Antonio Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, Feb. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
From 2012-2016, Harrison Barnes was a key piece of a Golden State Warriors team that went to the postseason four straight years and the NBA Finals twice. He averaged 33.0 minutes, 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the 2015 Finals for the squad that won the world championship.
Now at 34 years old, he’s back in the NBA Finals for the first time in a decade, this time with a new team and a much different role. After starting 52 games during the 2025-26 regular season for the San Antonio Spurs, he’s made no starts this postseason and is averaging 8.5 minutes with no points during the Finals. His role now is more as the wily veteran helping provide leadership to a young Spurs team led by emerging stars like 22-year-old Victor Wembanyama, 21-year-old Stephon Castle and 20-year-old rookie Dylan Harper.
The Spurs are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2014, and Barnes is grateful to have another crack at winning a title. Though much of the team’s core is young players with the majority of their career still ahead of them, he’s reminding his teammates not to take this opportunity for granted.
“This may be the last time both teams are in the Finals for a while. We have no idea,” Barnes said after shootaround on Friday, via Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.
The Spurs will have to dig out of a 3-1 hole after surrendering a 29-point lead that eventually led to a 107-106 New York Knicks win in Wednesday’s Game 4, the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. If the Spurs are to come back, the leadership from Barnes could be a factor.
His teammates have already noted how valuable his presence is. As they navigate this deep playoff run early in their career, the wisdom provided by someone who’s been there several times is invaluable.
“Shout out to HB,” forward Devin Vassell told the Express-News. “It’s been great for us so far and just his wisdom and his knowledge being in so many different games, Game 7s, championship games, whatever the case may be. He’s been able to just kind of calm us down and just tell us kind of what to expect.”
After a decorated three-year career at North Carolina, Barnes was drafted by the Warriors in 2012 with the No. 7 overall pick and made the All-Rookie Team. He stayed with Golden State through the 2015-16 season, when the Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals. He’s since played for the Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings before joining the Spurs ahead of the 2024-25 season. His last playoff appearance before this season was in 2023, when he averaged 28.0 minutes and 10.7 points per game for the Kings during a first-round series loss to the Warriors.
Now in his 14th NBA season, the Ames, Iowa, native is relishing the opportunity to play in the Finals once again. He told KCCI in Des Moines, Iowa, that he didn’t expect to be back in the Finals this late in his career.
“There were a lot of years where we were missing the playoffs,” he said. “…To be here this year where we’re in the NBA Finals, it’s a very unique and special situation.”
Earlier this year, he played his 1,000th career NBA game. He said he attributes his longevity to “having a village and day-to-day work and commitment. Obviously, it starts with my faith, but also my wife, Brittany, being the rock for me,” he told KCCI.
Barnes’ faith in God has been central to his life and career, and he’s been open about sharing how important it is. He calls himself a “devout Christian” on his website, lists the Bible verse Acts 4:12 in his X bio, and writes “#IJNIP” (In Jesus’ Name I Play) in his Instagram bio.
“Money, fame, and talent can be the top priorities for most professional athletes, but for Harrison Barnes, it’s his relationship with God that comes first. He is a Christian,” his website says. “Ever since he was young he grew up in the church. His faith has always been a big reason why he plays.
“On the inside of his shoes he has TGBTG, which is ‘To God Be The Glory’ and he just plays for Him. … He just realizes it is not his work, but His.”
Barnes’ faith began to take shape in high school, thanks in part to attendance at retreats, Sunday School and Bible studies. He even led some of those Bible studies.
“I wanted to leave an impact on the school, and I wanted Christ to be represented there,” Barnes told Iowa State Daily in 2009 after committing to play at North Carolina. “So I wanted to start that Bible study just to get a coalition of believers together and also integrate non-believers in there and just have that fellowship.”
He continued later: “I try to make [God] the center of my life and then just have that infiltrate all other spheres, such as glorifying Him on the basketball floor with all the gifts that He’s given me.”
The Spurs and Knicks continue the NBA Finals back in San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
