Jusuf Nurkic is Now Public Enemy #2 For the Nuggets

Nurkic has now cemented himself as one of Denver’s most hated players.

After the game in Portland the other night, Jusuf Nurkic wished the Nuggets a “happy summer.” He could have actually been sincere about it and not trying to trash talk.

However, it doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, that is not how it will be perceived by other Denver fans. With him quitting on the team before he was traded and now him trash talking the entire game to Jokic and the Nuggets, he is now public enemy #2 for the Nuggets.

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If you are wondering who is #1, it is still Andre Iguodala, A.K.A., the mole. (Let’s be honest, as much as Nurkic made us mad, he at least never sold the team out to the team we were facing in the post season.)

Jusuf Nurkic started the season playing particularly well. He dropped a double-double scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the first game in New Orleans. However, the lineup with he and Jokic both starting was just not meshing. Eventually, Jokic even benched himself. As time progressed, Nurkic started to stagnate, and finally, Jokic was inserted into the starting lineup. Suddenly, the Bosnian Beast got a string of DNP’s from Coach Malone.

Now, I will admit, I didn’t think he should not have gotten any playing time at all. He still deserved some minutes. However, his body language quickly became apparent. It showed he was displeased for being benched for a talent like Jokic, someone who is much more valuable, and he started to slack. From the effort he gave toward the end of his Denver tenure, it is worth wondering if he was giving less than 100% on purpose.

” Why would you say that?” you may say. Well take a look at the statistics. In Portland, he is now averaging 15 points per game compared to 8 points per game in Denver this season. Or how about 1.9 blocks per game for Portland where he only provided us with 0.9? What about only giving us 0.6 steals per game to now putting up 1.2 steals per game? His true shooting percentage has also jumped from 51.5% to 54.9%. (All stats were verified via basketball-reference.com.)

Now, yes, it could just be that he is getting more of an opportunity in Portland. However, when it looks as if you quit on your team, get traded, then suddenly start putting those type of improved numbers, people are going to call you out.

And now, with him acting as if he is as special as Jokic, when it clearly seems as if Jokic will be more successful, and talking about your former team like you are, you are going to make enemies.

Must Read: Malone's Job May be on the Line

As a result now, Jusuf Nurkic is now public enemy #2 in Nuggets Nation.