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To say Denver Nuggets big man Jusuf Nurkic is a man among boys as he tries to help Bosnia and Herzegovina qualify for EuroBasket 2017 next summer would be a sweeping understatement.
Nurkic, who was listed at 280 pounds last season, reportedly slimmed down by 35 pounds this summer but still substantially outweighs most of the competition he’s faced through three official qualifying games. Except for Timofey Mozgov, who’s played a leading role for the Russian national team, Nurkic has gone against opposing frontcourt players that provide little resistance in the paint.
Just by looking at the box scores from Bosnia’s three games, it’s apparent Nurkic is getting his way inside. The 22-year-old is averaging 18.7 points, the seventh-most in the tournament and 14.7 rebounds. Nurkic is getting to his spots and making the defense pay.
Here are highlights from his 19-point performance in Bosnia’s three-point win over Sweden, and the disappointing 11-point loss to Russia this past weekend:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=s83gyMinwUU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe3qhhWsepo
Nurkic is slimmed down and he’s noticeably skinnier all the way from his shoulders through his waist. He looks agile, is running the floor and dunking with ease and just looks flat out more mobile and athletic. He wasn’t running the floor in transition like this last year or even during his rookie season in Denver.
It’s also apparent that these defenders aren’t close to what he faces in the NBA. Most of Russia and Sweden’s bigs are lower level international players and aren’t used to defending players of Nurkic’s caliber.
If there’s a discouraging aspect to Nurkic’s play through three games with Bosnia, it’s his inefficiency around the rim and in the paint.
Nurkic has never been an efficient low post scorer throughout his time in Denver. Last season in 32 games Nurkic only shot 42.5 percent in the paint, down from the 46.1 percent he shot during his rookie season. In these three games where Bosnia has played Russia twice and Sweden once, Nurkic is shooting 41.9 percent on two-point shots. That number includes a few foul line jumpers, but you’d expect his percentages around the rim to be much higher when factoring in the level of competition he’s playing against.
Nurkic and the Bosnian Basketball Federation
Nurkic has a long and somewhat tumultuous relationship with the Bosnian Basketball Federation that stems back to 2014 when he was drafted by Denver.
The No. 16 overall pick reportedly wanted to play for the Bosnian National Team and the U20 team the summer he was drafted, however, the Nuggets only were offering Nurkic a contract if he went to Summer League with them. From there, the situation gets a bit murky. Nurkic was then called “a traitor” by the Federation after signing with Denver and has had a shaky relationship with the National Team ever since.
In their 78-67 loss to Russia, with tensions mounting over what looks like a failed attempt for Bosnia to qualify for EuroBasket next summer, Nurkic rolled his ankle in the closing minutes of an 18-point 13-rebound effort. He then went to the bench but the frustrations of a second straight loss to the Russians despite having NBA players Nurkic and Mirza Teletovic on the roster along with 17-year-old sensation Dzanan Musa on the roster, who’s widely regarded as the best prospect for his age in Europe, boiled over on the court.
The 7-footer then got into it with fans who were frustrated with the team’s play, especially since the game was played in Tuzla, Bosnia.
Nurkic then made an Instagram post giving his side of the story.
The translation is spotty, but from what I’ve gathered, Nurkic’s relationship with the national team and fans is fractured dating back to the Summer of 2014 when Denver acquired him in a draft-day trade with Chicago. What we saw at the conclusion of Bosnia’s game against Russia was a culmination of three years of frustration with Nurkic not playing for his national team combined with Bosnia’s poor performance in the qualifiers this summer (Huge thanks to Reddit commenters who did their best to translate).
Bosnia’s next and last game of EuroBasket qualification is against Sweden in Stockholm, Wednesday. Nuggets Media Day is scheduled for Sep. 26.
