Michael Porter Jr. sees a much brighter future for the Brooklyn Nets than most people might expect. After a 20-62 season left Brooklyn 13th in the Eastern Conference, the veteran forward still believes his new team can make the playoffs.

Rayasianboy, a Taiwanese Twitch and YouTube streamer, recently joined Porter for a basketball stream and 1-on-1 session. When asked about Brooklyn’s playoff chances, Porter said, “Yeah, we’re gonna make the playoffs.” When asked if the Nets could win the Larry O’Brien Trophy, he again said, “Yeah.”

“I’m not tryna be on no hating sh–, but y’all not touching a championship.”

Ray may have been blunt, but the gap between Brooklyn’s current level and championship contention is enormous. The Nets finished 20-62 last season, ranked 30th in offensive rating and 29th in net rating, and were eliminated from postseason contention before the playoffs began.

Brooklyn also has to climb over teams that are already operating at a much higher level. The Knicks enter the season as the defending champions after a 53-29 regular season, with Jalen Brunson returning as the Finals MVP. That kind of continuity and championship experience gives New York a clear advantage over a Nets team trying to make the jump from 20 wins to the playoff picture.

San Antonio presents another problem. The Spurs went 62-20 last season, won the Western Conference, and reached the NBA Finals behind Victor Wembanyama. Brooklyn is therefore not simply trying to become a playoff team; it would eventually have to close a massive gap on teams that have already shown they can win at the highest level.

Philadelphia has also raised the bar, adding Jaylen Brown and LeBron James to a roster that already includes Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe. The Sixers finished 45-37 last season and already had playoff experience before adding two more proven stars. Health remains a major variable, but their current star power gives them a much clearer championship path than Brooklyn’s.

Brooklyn has made moves that make Porter’s optimism easier to understand. The Nets added three experienced pieces in Julius Randle, Moritz Wagner, and Keon Ellis while continuing to develop a young group that includes Egor Dëmin, Nolan Traoré, Josh Minott, Noah Clowney, and others. But this is still a roster trying to raise its floor, not one that has already proved it can compete with the league’s best.

The biggest question may be how Randle and Porter fit together. Randle has traditionally been a high-usage creator, while Porter has spent much of his career doing damage as a scorer and shooter away from the ball. Randle could give Porter more chances to work as a spacer and scorer, but the two will still have to find the right balance with the ball in their hands. The fit is a question, not a problem that has already been proven.

Porter has given Brooklyn plenty of reason to believe he can lead that push. He averaged a career-high 24.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in 52 games last season, while shooting 46.3% from the field, 36.3% from three, and 85.9% from the free-throw line.

The problem is that those numbers did not translate into team success. Brooklyn still finished 20-62, with the NBA’s 30th-ranked offense and a minus-10.3 net rating. Porter was producing at a career-best level while playing on one of the league’s worst teams, which makes his individual improvement encouraging without making the Nets a championship team overnight.

That is where the difference between making the playoffs and winning a championship becomes important. Brooklyn has enough new pieces and individual talent to make a push up the standings, but jumping from 20 wins to the level of the Knicks, Spurs, or other established contenders is a far bigger challenge. For now, MPJ’s playoff optimism looks much easier to defend than his championship prediction.