Basketball has always come easy to Michael Porter Jr. — so what happens when it gets difficult?

By Michael Porter Jr.’s own admission, the game of basketball has always come easy to him.

As a high school senior, Porter became just the fifth player ever to win MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game as well as the Naismith and Gatorade National Player of the Year awards, following in the footsteps of Dwight Howard (2004), LeBron James (2003), Chris Webber (1991) and Alonzo Mourning (1988). At the 2016 U18 FIBA Americas, Porter led the USA in scoring (15.8 ppg) on a team that included Markelle Fultz, Jarrett Allen and Trae Young.

“It always has,” Porter said. “I’ve just got to keep getting healthy, and basketball takes care of itself.”

Aside from a back injury that cost him all but three games of his college career, Porter has overcome any obstacle in front of him with remarkable ease. He’s never known anything but success when healthy, which is perhaps what led to his — uhhhh — generous self-evaluation earlier this week.

“Right now, I’m a mix of Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and KD (Kevin Durant),” Porter said. “You know, I like going to the hole a little more than KD does, I like bumping into people a little more physical than KD. But I also, you know, I like to shoot the ball more than Giannis. So that’s what I like to compare myself to.”

The biggest questions about the 6-foot-11 forward Denver took 14th overall Thursday have to do with health. The Nuggets have already said they’re going to be cautious with Porter after he underwent back surgery in November. After watching him limp out of his introductory press conference Friday, it’s fair to wonder if he could go the Ben Simmons route and redshirt his first year in the league.

When Porter does get back on the court, the question then becomes: How will he react if things are difficult at first?

“I’m going to work my butt off to get to 150 percent,” Porter said. “Once that happens, I have no doubt in my mind that the basketball will take care of itself.”

Porter’s talent is undeniable. As a high school senior, he averaged 36.2 points and 13.6 rebounds — video game numbers — as he led Nathan Hale High School to a 29-0 record and the Washington Class 3A state championship. He was voted a 2017-18 consensus preseason All-American in college. His blend of size and smoothness caused Missouri head coach Cuonzo Martin to say that Porter looked like “a combination of — when they were in the high school stage — Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett.”

To become some version of either Kevin, Porter needs more than talent. He needs Durant’s work ethic, which has helped turn the Warriors forward into a scoring assassin, and Garnett’s passion, which caused him to headbutt stanchions before the whistle ever blew. We already know Porter is not short on confidence.

“I know I can be one of the best players in this league,” he said at his introductory press conference. “It’s up to me to reach that potential, and it’s up to God to allow me to reach that potential. But I know I can be one of the best players in this league one day.”

The first step is getting healthy. After that, he can get back on the court and do what he does best. Porter dominated high school basketball. It’s hard to overstate how much bigger, faster and stronger the competition in the NBA will be. Porter never got to acclimate at the in-between level. He only played two minutes during Missouri’s season opener before he was removed and underwent surgery.

Nuggets president Josh Kroenke is a believer. Kroenke, who also played basketball at Missouri, was so giddy about Porter falling to 14, he stayed up until 3 a.m. watching old highlights.

“I couldn’t believe we actually had him on our team,” Kroenke said.

“We were shocked to see him there at 14,” he added. “There’s a reason he was the No. 1 player in the high school class for a long, long time. And we’ll see. We know the risks. We felt the rewards outweighed the risks. We’re going to bring him along slowly on our own timeframe. And just keep developing him like we have some our other young players. We think he fits in pretty seamless with some of other guys. High IQ player, loves the game of basketball and is a hard worker. That’s the kind of DNA we want to start with every single time.”