One of Klutch Sports’ latest signings may be back on the court sooner than anybody expected. Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic, who has been out since late March of last year with a broken leg, participated in a 5-on-5, full-contact practice on Wednesday, according to Rip City Radio’s Jay Allen.
Nurkic chose to be represented by Klutch Sports and Rich Paul over the summer. The connection is a personal one as Nurkic played in Europe at Cedevita Zagreb with LeBron’s high school teammate Romeo Travis.
Nurkic and the Blazers have been purposefully mum on Nurkic’s progress until their star Damian Lillard told reporters today that Nurkic was participating in a full practice with the team. Teammate Caleb Swanigan said that Nurkic looked like himself, according to The Athletic’s Jason Quick.
Caleb Swanigan said “Nurk looked like Nurk” during practice, adding that Nurkić dunked at one point.
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) January 22, 2020
Nurkic, 25, had a career-year last season prior to the injury. He averaged career-highs in rebounds, points, and assists while anchoring a top-ten defense for much of the season.
There’s no official word yet on when Nurkic will make his return, but by the progress already made, it appears that it will be sooner rather than later.
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