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"He was above Jayson Tatum" – Michael Porter Jr. recalls forgotten phenom who never lived up to the hype
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- "He was above Jayson Tatum" – Michael Porter Jr. recalls forgotten phenom who never lived up to the hype
The list of players who had the potential to be so much more than their careers turned out to be is long and varied. From Grant Hill to Penny Hardaway to Brandon Roy, these players had greatness written all over them, but for one reason or another, couldn't get there.
Recently asked who he thought was the biggest "what-if" player of his era, Michael Porter Jr. named a couple, but honed in on a hyper-athletic 6'8″ forward who he believes could have been an NBA star had the chips fallen his way.
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Top-ranked high school player in the country
Aware of the many talented prospects who had high hopes but couldn't pull it all together, Porter said the league has "so many" could-have, would-have stories. But one name stands out: Josh Jackson.
A high school superstar at Prolific Prep in Napa, California, he played one NCAA season at Kansas, averaging 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. Convinced he could take the Phoenix Suns to the next level, they selected him with the fourth pick in the first round, ahead of All-Stars like De'Aaron Fox, Lauri Markkanen, Donovan Mitchell and Bam Adebayo.
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"I think one dude that I was just looking at the other day that kind of put this into perspective was Josh Jackson. He was the class of 2016. He was above me a year. He was the number one player in the world," Porter shared .
"He was above Jayson Tatum. He was above Harry Giles. He was above, uh, um, De'Aaron Fox. And he was, like, really good. And then he just didn't — never got to that level," he added.
Game didn't translate to the NBA
Jackson's numbers show he averaged 11.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game over five NBA seasons. However, his shooting efficiency left much to be desired: he shot only 41.6 percent from the field, including a woeful 29.2 percent from long range. And in an era obsessed with the 3-pointer, Jackson's inability to knock down threes was a massive negative.
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Add to that his devil-may-care play style, where he played too fast and forced too many wild shots, and Jackson was out of the league in 2022 after the Toronto Raptors waived him.
Players also need luck
As crucial as basketball talent and skills are, Porter admitted that luck also plays a significant role in a player's career at times.
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"You probably don't even know these names, but they were, like, dominating in the summer circuits, and they were projected to be some of the best NBA players. Never really panned out," MPJ said. "Could be because of injuries. It could be because of other things, but it just shows, like, even me, I've had some injuries, and it just shows, like, we're not—I'm not invincible."
"Like, some luck and some things go into becoming the best. You know, you got to have luck."
In Jackson's case, things could have been different if a team needed his particular set of skills, or if a coach knew how to maximize his talents. Unfortunately, neither happened, and at just 24, he found himself on the outside looking in.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
