Ranking the top 50 NBA players of next season: 50-41
By Corey Rausch
44. Jusuf Nurkic
One of the biggest winners of the NBA bubble, Jusuf Nurkic looked like a star in the 13 total games he played last season. The sample size is small but he averaged a staggering 17.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.4 steals per game in the eight seeding games. Then in the playoffs against the runner-up Defensive Player of the Year he averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals.
Nurkic is back, healthy and will be part of a dynamic Portland Trail Blazers team that looks to be ready to try to push for another trip to the Western Conference Finals. His potential has been unlocked with this team in the past and a full season should look even better on him with this new level of confidence.
Many teams are taking the hint after the dominant Los Angeles Lakers run through the playoffs that having some sort of option down low will be essential to competing against them. The Blazers have that in Nurkic and he makes them a legitimate contender in a Conference consistently competing in an arm’s race. As the Blazers continue to build around their guards Nurkic is an inseparable part of the equation.