Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t had the best relationship with Jusuf Nurkic and the Portland Trail Blazers recently but even they are rallying behind the big man.
The Trail Blazers announced early Tuesday morning that Nurkic sustained compound fractures to his left tibia and fibula and will miss the remainder of the season.
The 7-footer landed awkwardly on his left leg on Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets after going up for a rebound. Several players in the immediate area quickly ran away from Nurkic after seeing the injury.
The team said on Tuesday afternoon that Nurkic underwent successful surgery to repair the lower left leg injury and that he is expected to make a full recovery.
Of course, George suffered a similar injury while participating in an exhibition game in Las Vegas with Team USA back in 2014. George eventually made a full recovery from the injury.
As George said on Wednesday, Nurkic’s best days are ahead of him.
Me and Nurkic and this program and Nurkic, a couple of us, aren’t the fondest of Nurkic but in this moment, I send my best. I don’t wish that on anybody. I think everybody should rally behind him as a brotherhood and a fraternity being in the NBA — all of that stuff goes out the window. When you see somebody go down, [you] don’t wish that on nobody. I wish the best for Nurkic through this time. It’s hard, it’s tough but as I’ve been through it, his best days are ahead of him.
As division rivals, the Thunder and Trail Blazers have endured some heated battles as of late, especially this season. The Thunder swept the Trail Blazers and there was plenty of trash talk between the two teams.
As George said, all of the animosity goes away once a significant injury happens. The NBA has rallied behind Nurkic in the hours since the injury with a few other Thunder players offering their prayers for the big man on Twitter.
