It must have been uncomfortable, to say the least, for Michael Porter Jr. as he sat in the Green Room and watched the same players he had dominated on the AAU and High School circuits for years, walk across the stage and shake commissioner Adam Silver’s hand one by one. Porter was the second-ranked high school player in his class. He had his choice of where he wanted to spend his one season of college before vaulting to the pros. He was supposed to be the No. 1 or 2 pick. A franchise cornerstone.

A back injury in November zapped Porter’s draft stock. He had surgery on his L3 and L4 spinal discs in his lower back and was cleared to play in March. Porter returned and appeared in two more games in a Missouri uniform but didn’t look himself. On draft night he fell out of the top-5 and soon, tumbled out of the top-10. Porter’s medical uncertainty caused 13 teams to pass on him. But for Denver, the risk that comes with Porter was worth the potential reward.

The Nuggets sifted through Porter’s medicals with a fine-toothed comb in the lead up to the draft in case they were in a position to select him — a possibility they didn’t consider until their 14th overall selection drew near. At the beginning of the night Denver was comfortable choosing between a pool of players that included names like Miles and Mikal Bridges, Zhaire Smith, Jerome Robinson, Kevin Huerter and Porter, one of whom they were confident would fall to 14, per a league source. That group eventually narrowed to Porter and Smith when it came time to make the pick.

“As the draft develops you ask, ‘At what point do we want to take that risk?'” Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said.

Denver wound up with Porter because they could afford to take the risk that other lottery teams couldn’t.

While organizations like Sacramento, which selected Marvin Bagley III second overall, and Cleveland, which chose Alabama point guard Collin Sexton seventh, needed instant-impact rookies to launch their respective franchise’s into the next era, Denver can afford to be patient.

Jamal Murray, Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic are cemented as the Nuggets’ core. Add in Paul Millsap, Trey Lyles, Mason Plumlee and a slew of role players that could include Will Barton and Wilson Chandler again next season and Denver will field another playoff-caliber rotation. Even without Porter, the Nuggets should contend for the postseason.

“We don’t need a savior,” said Connelly.

The Nuggets will slow play Porter’s development because they can. Porter said on his conference call with the media following the draft that he wants to play at Summer League in July, but Connelly wouldn’t offer a definitive answer on Porter’s status until he arrived in Denver. At this point, it would be a surprise if he plays in Las Vegas. Who knows how much he’ll play in his rookie season.

His introductory press conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Friday at Pepsi Center.

“We have some of the best trainers and doctors in the world in Denver,” Connelly said. “They are confident.”

When healthy, Porter is a gifted offensive talent. At 6-foot-11, he’s long and versatile enough to play at least two and maybe three positions. He’s a natural scorer and shot-maker. He’s a positionless player in an increasingly positionless league, and at his peak, Porter is an All-Star level talent. If he can return to his pre-injury self Porter has the ability to become the best player in his draft class.

The Nuggets did their basketball homework on Porter too. They scouted him in high school, saw him play for USA Basketball’s Under-18 team at the 2016 FIBA Americans Championship and in showcases like the 2018 McDonald’s All-American game. They know what he’s capable of when healthy. Porter is confident in his own abilities too. Prior to the draft, he compared himself to Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. In a post-draft interview with CBS Sports, Porter said his goal is to become the best player of all-time.

What Denver did by selecting Porter was raise their ceiling. Porter has All-NBA potential. He elevates the Nuggets’ long-term outlook. On its current path, Denver — with a rising core in Jokic, Murray and Harris — is on track to gradually climb the Western Conference hierarchy next season. With Porter in tow, the Nuggets charted a course that can take them further if he can recover.

The Nuggets fully realize the risks involved when it comes to Porter. Will he regain his NBA-level athleticism? Will his score-first mentality mesh with Denver’s equal opportunity offense? Those questions still remain. But in a league where a certain amount of chance and good fortune can determine legacies, shape the future of the league, Denver took the risk that it felt like it needed to.

“He’s an elite talent who, without back issues, we wouldn’t have had the good fortune of drafting,” Connelly said. “I think you have to take a swing at guys like that. You have to get lucky.”