Denver Nuggets: Wardell’s Take-“They’re Playing Basketball”
By Wardell
Jusuf Nurkic = Rakim
Wardell (@ponaxWardell):
Ill Will is not the only Nugget who channels the old school ways. Jusuf Nurkic style of play is so reminiscent of the times of Elvin Hayes and Artis Gilmore.
Live Feed
FanSided
He has the grit and toughness of legends, while also managing to be a one-of-a-kind player. That’s part of why he reminds me so much of Rakim. Another thing about them which is similar is the way they got their start.
They both had fantastic debuts (Rakim had Paid in Full and Nurkic had his rookie year) and have gained respect in the process. Rakim has an elaborate rhyme scheme which has yet to be touched to this day. Nurkic plays hard and is almost untouchable whenever he’s near the rim.
Both Rakim and Nurkic took the world by storm out of nowhere and carried the mindset to back-up their skills. Nurkic constantly trash-talked established veterans his rookie year while also matching them on the box score. Rakim was able to praise his own abilities while slamming every other MC because they were simply uncomparable.
Now I’m not saying that Nurkic will end up being remembered as one of the greatest to ever play the game, but he could be remembered as one of the best old-school players of this era. It’ll all just depend on whether or not Nurkic can follow-up on his rookie season.
He was hurt for the majority of last season, so we’ll have to wait until the start of this season to see if he can match the success of Rakim’s Follow the Leader.