Michael Porter Jr: "I Just Want People To See That There’s More Than Meets The Eye To Athletes."

Sports Illustrated

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As 23-year-old Michael Porter Jr. prepares for his third NBA season, he took a minute to chat with ClutchPoints, where he discussed a number of subjects.

Mostly, though, he wanted to let the world know about the motivations behind his “Curious Mike” show, which is on the cusp of releasing its second season.

According to MPJ, he wants to shed some light on a different side of athletes, one that fans don't really get to see on the court.

(via ClutchPoints)

“Like I said, I just kinda want people to see that there’s more than meets the eye to athletes. There is so much going around the world right now. Like you just said, there’s a lot of athletes coming out and saying they are not necessarily happy and are going through a lot. That’s real stuff. I just want to create something where you can have conversations,” the Nuggets youngster added.

I think people with a lot of influence sometimes don’t like to talk about things like that because they might be put down or crucified on social media, whatever it is. I just want to do something that breaks those boundaries a little bit.”

Porter has big plans for the show, which will feature Brandon Roy and maybe even his teammate and co-star, Nikola Jokic.

“Definitely Nikola is a unique dude that I really respect. [I] would love to have him in the show. I got to bring it up to him still. I don’t even know if he knows about it because he’s not on social media or anything. People can learn a lot from that dude: he’s the MVP but he doesn’t really carry himself like he thinks he’s a superstar—he’s just a regular guy.

I respect his consistency on and off the court and who he is. He’s a funny guy, so I’m hoping to get him on there so that people can see a different side of Joker, too.”

Today, basketballers are fighting hard to prove they can do other things besides dribble a basketball. Over the years, many stars have supported the "More Than An Athlete" movement, and it seems "Curious Mike" is acting in the spirit of that movement.

It will be interesting to see what Porter does with his show going forward, and what kinds of themes will be explored.