Jusuf Nurkić
No. 23 – Denver Nuggets | |
---|---|
Position | Center |
League | NBA |
Personal information | |
Born | Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
August 23, 1994
Nationality | Bosnian |
Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) |
Listed weight | 280 lb (127 kg) |
Career information | |
NBA draft | 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16th overall |
Selected by the Chicago Bulls | |
Playing career | 2012–present |
Career history | |
2012–2014 | Cedevita |
2013 | →Zadar |
2014–present | Denver Nuggets |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Stats at NBA.com | |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com |
Jusuf Nurkić (born August 23, 1994) is a Bosnian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) tall and weighing 280 lb (127 kg) the center was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He also represents the Bosnia and Herzegovina national basketball team internationally.
Contents
Early career
Born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nurkić began playing basketball at 14-years-old after Bosnian sports agent Enes Trnovčević took him to Slovenia and gave him an opportunity to play.[1] Nurkić played in the youth categories for Slovenian team Zlatorog Laško.[2] In February 2012, he was briefly loaned to Union Olimpija in order to play the Nike International Junior Tournament which was held in Belgrade. Nurkić attracted attention internationally by averaging 18.8 points and 11 rebounds over 5 games.[2][3] Shortly after the tournament, he parted ways with Zlatorog Laško.[4] Just days after, it was revealed that Nurkić was training with Croatian team Cedevita.[5]
Professional career
Cedevita Zagreb (2012–2014)
In October 2012, after a few months of training with Croatian team Cedevita, Nurkić signed a four-year contract with them.[6][7] After signing his contract, in the press-conference he gave a reason for parting ways with Zlatorog Laško, accusing his former coach Miloš Šporar of not giving him chance to play.[8] In his first season with Cedevita, he had small role in the team under head coach Aleksandar Petrović, mostly playing in garbage time. In the Euroleague, he played only 6 games, averaging 1.8 points per game. In January 2013, Nurkić was loaned to Zadar until the end of the season on his initiative, hoping to play more minutes.[9] In his second season, under new head coach Jasmin Repeša he had breakthroughs in the regional Adriatic League, averaging 11.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, although for only 16.3 minutes spent onto the court. This was attributed mainly because to foul troubles and conditioning issues.[10]
In 2014, Nurkić was nominated for the FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year Award.[11]
Denver Nuggets (2014–present)
On 26 June 2014, Nurkić was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 16th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft. He was later traded to the Denver Nuggets on draft night.[12] On 31 July 2014, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Nuggets.[13] On 29 October 2014, he made his NBA debut, recording 5 points and 7 rebounds in an 89–79 win over the Detroit Pistons.[14] On 1 January 2015, he recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the Chicago Bulls.[15] Two days later, he recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go with 5 blocks in a 114–85 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[16] He went on to record two more double-doubles in February.[14] Nurkić was named a participant in the 2015 Rising Stars Challenge as a replacement for Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder, but declined to play in the event for personal reasons.[17] In the Nuggets' final game of the season on 15 April, Nurkić scored a season-high 17 points in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.[14] On 20 May, he underwent successful surgery to repair a partially torn left patellar tendon.[18]
On 11 October 2015, the Nuggets exercised their third-year team option on Nurkić's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season.[19] Nurkić made his 2015–16 season debut on 2 January against the Golden State Warriors, having been inactive for the first two months of the season due to recovering from his torn left patellar tendon.[20] Four days later, he recorded 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in a 78–74 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[21] On 12 March, he scored a season-high 17 points in a 116–100 win over the Washington Wizards.[22] He topped that mark twice in late March, scoring 18 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on 25 March,[23] and 19 points against the Los Angeles Clippers on 27 March.[24] On 8 April, he scored a career-high 21 points in a 102–98 win over the San Antonio Spurs.[25]
National team
Playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nurkić was named MVP of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B held in 2012, where he averaged 19.4 points and 13.3 rebounds per game.[26] He was also MVP of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B, held in 2014, where he averaged 21.4 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.[27] He played a minor role in the senior team of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the FIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualification,[28] but did not make the squad for the final tournament due to the conflict with the board of Bosnian National Basketball Association.[29]
Career statistics
Legend | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | ||
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | ||
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | ||
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating | ||
Bold | Career high |
Note: The Euroleague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.
NBA
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014–15 | Denver | 62 | 27 | 17.8 | .446 | .000 | .636 | 6.2 | .8 | .8 | 1.1 | 6.9 |
2015–16 | Denver | 32 | 3 | 17.1 | .417 | .000 | .616 | 5.5 | 1.3 | .8 | 1.4 | 8.2 |
Career | 94 | 30 | 17.6 | .435 | .000 | .628 | 5.9 | 1.0 | .8 | 1.2 | 7.3 |
Euroleague
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012–13 | Cedevita | 6 | 0 | 3.7 | .625 | 1.000 | .000 | .7 | .0 | .2 | .5 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
Career | 6 | 0 | 3.7 | .625 | 1.000 | .000 | .7 | .0 | .2 | .5 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
Domestic leagues
Season | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012–13 | Cedevita Zagreb | Adriatic League | 5 | 6.8 | .750 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | .2 | .0 | .0 | 2.6 |
KK Zadar | 9 | 6.6 | .579 | .000 | .600 | 2.0 | .6 | .3 | .4 | 4.1 | ||
Croatia A-1 Liga | 19 | 13.3 | .495 | .000 | .691 | 4.4 | .5 | .8 | .9 | 8.1 | ||
2013–14 | Cedevita Zagreb | Adriatic League | 28 | 16.6 | .560 | .143 | .701 | 5.7 | .7 | 1.1 | .8 | 11.7 |
Croatia A-1 Liga | 15 | 16.5 | .551 | .000 | .614 | 5.3 | 1.0 | .7 | 1.2 | 11.5 |
Personal life
Nurkić's father, Hariz, is a police officer in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, according to Denver Nuggets' broadcasters, stands at seven-feet-tall and weighs over 400 pounds.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Nuggets get Gary Harris, Jusuf Nurkic in first round of 2014 NBA Draft
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Jusuf Nurkic 2014-15 Game Log
- ↑ Derrick Rose's strong finish powers Bulls by Nuggets
- ↑ Nuggets rout travel-weary Grizzlies 114-85
- ↑ Nuggets' Jusuf Nurkic opts out of Rising Stars Challenge
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ MVP NURKIC LEADS ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
- ↑ Jusuf Nurkic named MVP after leading Bosnia to U20 title
- ↑ JUSUF NURKIC (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- Career statistics and player information from WNBA.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). and Basketball-Reference.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Jusuf Nurkić at abaliga.com
- Jusuf Nurkić at eurobasket.com
- Jusuf Nurkić at euroleague.net
- Jusuf Nurkić on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- 1994 births
- Living people
- ABA League players
- Bosnia and Herzegovina basketball players
- Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in the United States
- Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Centers (basketball)
- Chicago Bulls draft picks
- Denver Nuggets players
- KK Cedevita players
- KK Zadar players
- National Basketball Association players from Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Sportspeople from Tuzla