After lifting his team to its first two-game winning streak of the season, Michael Porter Jr. missed Thursday's matchup against the Utah Jazz. Porter sat out the back end of Thursday's back-to-back with lower back injury management. Rookie Drake Powell also missed Thursday's game with left knee injury management. Thursday's status report pic.twitter.com/teSlqHpOfM - Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) December 4, 2025
Coming out of UNC after a freshman season where he displayed all the traits needed to become an elite NBA-level defender, rookie Drake Powell brought plenty of upside and intrigue to the Brooklyn Nets. His offensive game was, and still is, a project, but the impact he's already made on the defensive end is blatant-and his head coach is noticing. Following Brooklyn's first win at the Barclays Center of the 2025-26 campaign, a 116-103 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, Head Coach Jordi Fernandez praised the 20-year-old's knack for making the plays that don't show up on a stat sheet.
He's yet to suit up after sitting out Summer League with what the team called a minor left knee tendinopathy. At Media Day, general manager Sean Marks said Powell had not yet been cleared for 5-on-5 and would continue ramping up through training camp, with hopes of playing in the preseason. Powell later told reporters his knee "felt good" and expressed confidence in the return-to-play plan set by Brooklyn's medical staff.
