Jusuf Nurkic’s Journey to the Rip City

By Tommy Boyd

In November of last year, The Crossover published a profile by Ben Golliver that covered Portland big man Jusuf Nurkić’s improbable journey to the NBA.

Golliver’s story begins around draft night in 2014 and briefly outlines the timeline of his NBA career. From there, the story travels back to his Bosnian life and interesting basketball career before he ever made it to the U.S. The 23-year-old’s family life and early career were fascinating, and Golliver told the story impeccably well.

Nurkić was drafted by Chicago and quickly traded to Denver, where he spent his first season. Once the Nuggets started to give more playing time to Nikola Jokić, Nurkić wanted out. The Nuggets eventually traded him to Portland, where he is now averaging just over 14 points and eight rebounds a game. He fits well in Portland, and he likes having guards like Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum that keep him involved on offense.

Part of what made the story so interesting was simply the nature of Nurkić’s life, but most of it came down to the way that Golliver told the story. The personality of the Portland big man shone through. There were also many interesting parallels that Golliver emphasized by the piece’s design, such as his passing ability, forcing himself out of an unfortunate situation, and bulls.

The story was rich with information about Portland’s center, and it provided extensive context about the importance of his play this season since it is a contract year for him. It navigated with ease through so many different aspects of his life, and it stayed exciting throughout.

After having no idea who the center was a week ago, I now feel like I know him well.