In his fifth NBA season, Nurkic enjoyed the best statistical year of his career. He started all 72 games in which he appeared -- topping 70 games for the second time in his career. Nurkic averaged career highs in nearly every major category, including points (15.6), rebounds (10.4), and assists (3.2) per game. The Bosnian big man knocked down a career-high 50.8 percent of his field goals and 77.3 percent of his free throws, and he played a career-high 27.4 minutes per game. In a Jan. 1 victory over the Kings, Nurkic turned in one of the most impressive stat lines of the season, scoring 24 points and pulling down 23 rebounds to go with seven assists, five steals, and five blocks. On Jan. 16, Nurkic recorded his first career triple-double, putting up 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Nurkic recorded 36 double-doubles on the season, including two streaks of five straight double-doubles in October and March, respectively. Nurkic's season came to an early end on Mar. 25, when he suffered a fractured leg during a win over the Nets. In that game, Nurkic had 32 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals in 34 minutes. He remained sidelined throughout Portland's run to the Western Conference Finals.

Playing his first full season in Portland, Nurkic took his game to an entirely new level. The former Nugget started every one of his career-high 79 games. His 26.4 minutes per game were five minutes more than he averaged a season earlier and a new-career-best mark. Nurkic was involved more offensively with the Blazers than he ever was during his two-plus years in Denver. His 12.0 field goal attempts shattered his previous career-high (8.2 per game). The result was Nurkic averaging a career-high 14.3 points to go along with a career-best 9.0 rebounds. He posted 27 double-doubles, including a monstrous 14-point, 20-rebound (seven offensive) effort in a win over the Clippers on Jan. 30. Nurkic shot better than 50.0 percent (50.5) from the field for a second straight season in addition to posting better than one block (1.4) per game for a fourth consecutive year. Nurkic's per-36-minute numbers -- 19.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks -- were also strong.

Nurkic began his third season in the NBA with the Nuggets, starting 29 of 45 games he appeared in. The emerging big man averaged 8.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest while in Denver. He collected four double-doubles while a member of the Nuggets, including a 13-point, 18-rebound, five-block performance at Toronto on Halloween. At the trade deadline, Nurkic was swapped for Mason Plumlee in a 1-for-1 trade between the Trail Blazers and Nuggets. Nurkic shined in 20 games (19 starts) during the remainder of the regular season. Playing nearly 30 minutes per contest, Nurkic averaged a double-double with 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds. He tallied double-doubles in nine of the first 20 games of his Trail Blazers career. He grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds against Philadelphia on Mar. 9. Nurkic scored a career-best 33 points against his former Denver squad Mar. 28. A broken leg sidelined him following Mar. 30, and he appeared in one playoff game for Portland, Game 3 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Nurkic notched two points, 11 rebounds, four assists and one block during that contest.

Nurkic played in 32 games in his second NBA season with the Nuggets. After battling a back strain, he made is season-debut on Jan. 2 with a brief appearance during a close loss at Golden State. Four nights later, during a win at Minnesota, the Bosnian big man double-doubled with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks over 22 minutes of run. The 21-year-old was able to play 17.1 minutes per game and averaged 8.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest. His best game of the year came Apr. 8, when he posted a double-double with a season-high 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. It was one of four double-doubles for the center. Nurkic managed double-digit scoring in 10 other games, including a 19-point effort on Mar. 27. He grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds against Portland on Apr. 13 and had three other games with 10 or more rebounds. Nurkic also had a season-high five swats in a win over Minnesota on Jan. 6. He had 11 other games with at least two blocks.

As a rookie in Denver, Jusuf Nurkic appeared in 62 games, making 27 starts and averaging 6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks over 17.8 minutes per contest. The big center made his NBA debut on Oct. 29 and produced five points and seven rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. He registered his first career double-double against the Bulls on Jan. 1, going for 10 points and 10 rebounds, with three blocks, in 21 minutes. Nurkic followed up that performance with another double-double on Jan. 3 against the Grizzlies. In a matchup against Golden State on Apr. 15, Nurkic scored a season-high 17 points, to go with nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. For the season, Nurkic scored in double-figures 18 times, and he had seven double-digit-rebound games. Denver finished the year at 30-52 and missed the post-season.