Photo Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

Jusuf Nurkic Was Discovered Because His Dad, A 7ft, 400-Pound Cop, Beat 14 People In A Fight

The story of how Jusuf Nurkic was discovered, is one of the most amazing stories I have heard in a while. It goes a little something like this.

Jusuf Nurkic was discovered because of his dad,  Hariz Nurkic, who is a police officer in Bosnia. He is 7 feet tall and weighs in at over 400 pounds. Bosnian sports agent Enes Trnovcevic, read a story about Hariz Nurkic and was intreagued:

Jusuf Nurkic’s dad is a policeman in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. One day a Bosnian sports agent Enes Trnovcevic was reading a newspaper where he read: “Bosnian policeman, Hariz Nurkic has beaten 14 people in a fight.” He knew what to do instantly! Next day he went to Tuzla and met with Nurkic’s father. The only thing he asked him was: “Do you have a son?” Jusuf Nurkic was at that time a 14 years old boy and never trained basketball. Enes Trnovcevic took him to Slovenia and gave him an opportunity he accepted and used.

Jusuf has confirmed the general part of this story. We don’t know if his father really beat up 14 people at once, but I’d like to believe that he did.

”He looked at me, and I was normal size, and he said, ‘That kid is going to be in the NBA. We all just smiled, because it was crazy.”

Back then, Nurkic has never played basketball before, he did not know the least thing about the game, and couldn’t shoot either. But Nurkic was curious about the game now, so he got a coach who taught him all the basics, like how to shoot. As you all know, Nurkic really ended up becoming an NBA player. Sometimes all it needs is a little luck, and your dad beating up 14 people at once.

The fight may have looked a little something like this: