In an extensive feature article by Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated, Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkić opened up about his early life and NBA experience over the last four years.
From being a 2014 Denver Nuggets rookie who was first mesmerized by going up against his childhood idol in Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant to becoming the Blazers starting center, Nurkić has seen a major growth in both his game and maturity.
“I know I should be starting. I know I can be an All-Star,” Nurkić said. “If you ask me, no center in the league is better than me. If I don’t fight for myself, who is going to fight for me?”
Jusuf Nurkić said that during his time with the Nuggets in the 2015-16 season, he was bothered by head coach Mike Malone's decision to start fellow center Nikola Jokić over him.
“Mike Malone came to me with all this sweet talk, saying that I was going to be fine and that he couldn’t wait to see me back,” Nurkić recalled. “If you like somebody else, play them. But don’t come to my home and say that I’m going to be the starting center and then play someone else.”
By December 2016, frustrated with his role and his long-term future, Nurkić and his agent requested a trade from Denver for the second time.
“I believe you can develop guards together. But two centers? No way,” Nurkić said. “I don’t want to make this a big drama like KD. I was never on the same page with the coach and the front office. It just came to the point where I needed to go. My career was on the line.”
However, the Blazers big man still doesn't understand why the media has portrayed him as such a bad person over what went down in Denver.
“People assume I had an attitude problem and people like to make up stories that paint me as a bad guy,” Nurkić elaborated. “Once I asked for a trade, there were even more rumors that I wasn’t happy. But I shouldn’t be happy! No one in that situation should be happy. I put in the hard work to play and someone was holding me down.”
After his trade from the Nuggets to the Blazers back in February, things have continued to improve for Jusuf Nurkić within a new environment in Portland. The center also wanted to make clear that he was very thankful for his opportunity in Denver.
“I needed a change of scenery. Both sides needed it,” he said. “I’m thankful Denver let me go where I wanted to go. If I was doing all the bad things that people said, the Nuggets wouldn’t have traded me where I wanted to go, and they probably would have gotten a way better deal than they got.”
In 16 starts this season for the Blazers, Nurkić is currently averaging 14.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and one blocked shot per game in 27.4 minutes of action per contest.
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