Jusuf Nurkic is entering his second full season with the Portland Trail Blazers and the imposing 7-footer's excitement is approaching a fever pitch. After Portland traded for the big man in 2017, he went from languishing on Denver's bench, struggling to garner top minutes, to becoming an integral part of the Blazers' team dynamic.
“Nurk Fever” caught on in Portland after the trade and now the Bosnian big man believes “Nurk Fever” is back.
“It was an amazing experience, man,” Nurkic told James Herbert of CBS Sports. “They gave me the role I always wanted. Coming from Denver, I didn't know what's going on, and I came in here and they were just like, ‘Go hoop. Have fun.' That was probably the best experience for me and the city and the organization. We had that run and made the playoffs and then you come into the year and you have a lot of expectations from myself, from the fans, from the league, whatever.”
Nurkic is playing loose and having fun in Portland. Although he took a slight step back in his production last season, he still played well. But now Nurkic is looking to bring it back to his first 20 games in Portland when he averaged a ridiculous stat line for a big man. He averaged 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks in just under 30 minutes per game.
This was a huge jump in production from his time in Denver when he was only playing around 17 minutes per night. But Jusuf Nurkic knows this year is his year.
“I mean, the Nurk Fever is back,” he said.
Nurkic and the Blazers will open their 2018-19 NBA campaign at home against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday.
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