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Blazers Season Awards: Most Improved Player

By Spencer Gordon

Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

There were two games in particular that truly stood out as the “Nurkic Fever” boiling point.

The first game was against Philadelphia, where Nurkic had a career game that had Charles Barkley singing his praises. He dominated the post for the entire game, and put in a stat line that was flat out dominant. 28 Points, 20 Rebounds, 8 Assists and 6 Blocks.

Second game wasn’t too shabby either. Denver came into Portland late in the season with the playoff tiebreaker on the line. Not only that, but Nurkic was facing off against the team that traded him, giving him professional and personal stakes to think about.

So what did he do, put in another dominating performance, specifically outplaying Jokic and sending a message to the franchise that let him go.

Nurkic became a franchise staple virtually overnight. The guy has Portland forgetting about their 0-4 sweep to the Warriors and excited for next season.

Which is why he is RCP’s Most Improved Player.

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