Jusuf Nurkic's Grandmother Died Of Coronavirus Before Team's Play-In Game

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Jusuf Nurkic, Trail Blazers, Grandma
Jusuf Nurkic announced that his grandmother had passed prior to the Trail Blazers' play-in game against the Grizzlies.

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic announced on Instagram prior to Saturday's matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, that his grandmother has passed. She died as a result of contracting the coronavirus.

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"I didn't want to play," Nurkic said after the game. "I think she made me play."

Nurkic performed at the top of his game, leading the Blazers to a 126-122 victory. The big man tallied an impressive 22 points, 21 rebounds, and 6 assists.

"Obviously, it's emotional," Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. "I couldn't be more proud of him; as it's very difficult, been hanging over his head for a while. There was never talk of not playing.

"You could tell that it was on his mind. But other than talking about it briefly before the game, that was it."

Nurkic revealed that his grandmother had been battling the virus on August 2: "I'm praying for her," Nurkic said. "It's family. Obviously the court is the safest place for me. I've been through a lot in my life. It's not going to change my mindset. It will be the same when I'm on the floor."

The Trail Blazers will now play the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

[Via]


About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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