Jusuf Nurkic is expected to undergo knee surgery on May 20th for a slight tear of the patella tendon. He is expected to be out of action for three to four months. Nurkic’s surgery is a big blow for a player who was looking to build on his solid rookie season.
If everything goes as scheduled, Nurkic should be back to some basketball functions in September. The Nuggets training camp usually starts at the end of September.
Nurkic played through knee pain during the second half of the season, he also sustained an ankle during the same time period and probably the most pleasant surprise amongst the Nuggets’ dismal season. When he was drafted, Nurkic had only played basketball for five years.
Originally, Nurkic was third on the center depth chart. He was originally the back-up for Javele McGee and Timofey Mozgov. But Nurkic’s impressive play continued with Mozgov being traded created pretty of playing time for the rookie center who started a few games for the Nuggets towards the end of the year.
Nurkic was named to the NBA All-Rookie second team. He averaged 6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game.
