Appearing on this week’s episode of Respectfully The Justin Laboy Show, NBA player Michael Porter Jr. got real about the struggles of dating as a multi-millionaire. And, boy, it’s a lot to take in.
For context, Michael, known to some as MPJ, is currently a player for the Brooklyn Nets. But before this, he’d spent his NBA career playing for the Denver Nuggets. After joining the team in 2018, MPJ signed a five-year, $179.3 million extension deal in 2021, which, according to his agent, had performance-based incentives that increased the worth to upwards of $200 million.
That’s a whole lot of money, but it didn’t mean Michael was willing to spend it too freely. Speaking with Justin Laboy on his podcast this week, the NBA player talked about the risk of ruining “everything you’ve built for your whole life” if you’re not careful about the people you choose to date. This prompted a conversation about splitting rent with his ex-girlfriend, whom he dated for a year and a half during his time with the Nuggets.
Laughing it off, Michael attempted to defend the decision by circling back to his fears of losing “everything you’ve built” as a successful person, saying: “It’s very hard when you have money to tell a woman’s intentions.”
Michael and his ex never officially lived together, as he doesn’t want to move in with a partner until they’re married. So, as for how the rent-splitting situation came about, the 27-year-old explained that his girlfriend, who was from Los Angeles, was looking for an apartment, found a place both of them liked a lot, but it was out of her price range.
As it turned out, they wound up calling it quits “five or six months” into the apartment lease, and when Justin asked Michael if he’d sent her his remaining half of the rent now that they’re not together, his answer was pretty complicated.
Well, that certainly gives us a lot to think about. A clip of the interview has racked up over 2.3 million views on X in the last day alone, and Michael’s comments have sparked a serious divide, with some thinking it’s fair, while others feel it’s “egregious” given his wealth.
So, what do you think of all this? Please give me your take in the comments! You can watch the full interview here.