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Michael Porter Jr. and Trae Young became close friends in 2016 as they trained together as elite high school basketball talents. Both were also members of the FIBA Americas Under-18 team that competed in Chile.
The two played for Mokan Elite in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) and won the championship that year.
The Denver Nuggets forward had this to say about his and Young’s experience back then:
“We were just dominant out there. We were smacking everybody, like really good teams. I honestly think we probably could go down as probably the best AAU team ever because we were smacking teams at Peach Jam by 30.”
He added:
“Mokan, that program, out of Kansas City was one of the only EYBL teams that practices. … Those practices and all that is harder than college and the NBA combined.”
Michael Porter Jr.’s claim of Mokan’s practices being tougher than what they have gone through in college and the NBA combined might be outlandish. Collegiate hoops and the pro league simply have better talent among players with mouth-dropping athleticism.
In the 2016 EYBL Finals at Peach Jam, “MPJ” and Trae Young were unstoppable. Porter Jr. finished with 33 points and six rebounds. “Ice Trae” finished with 28 points and 11 assists. The two were named co-MVPs of the said tournament.
Mokan Elite’s training helped mold Michael Porter Jr. and Young into elite NBA talents. “MPJ” has already won a title with the Denver Nuggets while Young went to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021.
Michael Porter Jr. and Trae Young’s respective teams are trending in the opposite direction
Michael Porter Jr. Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope may yet still be the best starting unit in the NBA. The Denver Nuggets' five best players just gave the franchise its first championship in 47 years.
Denver’s core is also not going anywhere in the next two years unless the team trades one of a few of them. As constructed, they will be heavy favorites to defend their title.
Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, on the other hand, seem stuck in the middle of the loaded Eastern Conference. Atlanta just lost John Collins to the Utah Jazz for salary cap relief.
The Hawks will be returning the core of Young, De’andre Hunter, Clint Capela, Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Saddiq Bey. This unit had to get past the play-in tournament to reach the playoffs as the seventh seed.
The Boston Celtics dispatched them in six games in the first round of the playoffs. Since reaching the conference finals in 2021, the Hawks haven’t reached the semifinals in the postseason.
With the way things are going, it looks like Michael Porter Jr. is set up for more success in the NBA compared to Trae Young.
