Nuggets' Michael Porter Jr. has second back surgery; no timetable for return

ByABC News
July 19, 2018, 2:39 PM

Michael Porter Jr., the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Denver Nuggets, has undergone surgery of the lumbar spine, the team announced Thursday.

The Nuggets said there is no timetable for Porter's return to basketball participation.

The procedure, performed by Dr. Andrew Dossett at The Carrell Clinic in Dallas, TX, is the second for Porter in less than a year. The 6-foot-10 forward played in just three games last season after sustaining a back injury just two minutes into his Missouri debut. He would have a microdiscectomy of his L3-L4 spinal disks in November of 2017 and was expected to miss the remainder of the season. Porter returned late in the season to play a pair of games for the Tigers -- one each in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

Porter, who was projected to be a high-lottery pick, also dealt with a hip strain and back spasms leading up to the draft which likely contributed to his slide to the Nuggets at 14.