Jusuf Nurkic 2024-25 Suns season preview: Can Mike Budenholzer unleash stretch-5 Nurk?

As you may have heard, Mike Budenholzer is the new head coach of the Phoenix Suns, and as a result, they’re going to get up a lot of 3s this year. The question is whether Jusuf Nurkic will be part of that onslaught as coach Bud’s next stretch-5 transformation project.

It’s hard to put much stock in offseason workout videos, but Nurk has clearly been working on that aspect of his game all summer, and it sounds like the Suns are expecting him to be able to bring this new dynamic to the table.

Over the next five days, we’ll be wrapping up our Suns season preview series that has gone through all 17 players on the roster, one-by-one. That includes both a written piece for the avid readers (hello there!) and a video breakdown for the visual learners.

On Day 13, we’re diving into the strengths of Jusuf Nurkic’s game that are often overlooked, the weaknesses that could hold the Suns back in a playoff setting, and how Nurk could help Phoenix’s offense reach new heights if he really does prove to be a reliable stretch-5.

Jusuf Nurkic 2024-25 Suns Season Preview

Before we tackle the floor-spacing component, it’s important to understand why it’d be so beneficial for this Suns team. The main reason traces back to one of Jusuf Nurkic’s greatest shortcomings: finishing around the basket.

According to Cleaning The Glass, which filters out garbage time, Nurkic shot 60 percent at the rim last year, which ranked in the 15th percentile among centers. But this wasn’t some new issue; Nurk has never shot better than 63 percent at the rim, and he’s never ranked higher than the 34th percentile at his position in rim accuracy.

Considering The BBall Index placed Nurk in the 74th percentile in rim shot quality, it’s hard to realistically see those numbers improving drastically. Perhaps playing with a traditional pick-and-roll partner in Tyus Jones, while being flanked by the Big 3, will open up even easier looks for Nurkic. But also, the rim touch might just be what it is.

Nobody is suggesting Jusuf Nurkic should start shying away from the typical center things Phoenix needs him to do (i.e. finishing around the basket). But adding a somewhat credible 3-point shot would undoubtedly open things up for himself and for the Suns offense.

The best part is Nurk doesn’t need to be some 40 percent 3-point sniper on high volume to provide value as a floor-spacer; even something close to his best shooting year in Portland, when he made 36.1 percent of his 2.3 attempts per game, would add a new pick-and-pop dynamic to this high-powered offense.

His first season in Phoenix, Nurk showed signs of wanting to take more 3s, attempting 77 triples leading up to Jan. 11. But from that point on, he only attempted 13 3s the rest of the year. Nurk made it clear at Suns Media Day that this dramatic change wasn’t his choice.

“Not trying to go too deep on that because it was not my decision,” Nurkic said. “So I can tell you that was more about coach, what he wanted to do. Since I came here, I was only about team stuff, what we have to do, and one conversation was like, ‘We need to take more 3s.’ But I felt like our three best players was taking middies, like 2s. And I think that was the adjustment I guess the coach wanted to make, probably Grayson [Allen] and them to take more 3s, and it is what it is. But it was just like, coach more want to do that than me.”

In fairness to former coach Frank Vogel, he probably told Nurk to stop shooting 3s because he was only making 27.3 percent of them at that point. The Bosnian Beast wound up shooting 24.4 percent from deep on the season.

But these misses are the types of shots Mike Budenholzer will encourage in a modern NBA offense that wants to take more 3s:

That begs the obvious, make-or-break question: Can Jusuf Nurkic actually knock down 3s at a respectable clip this time around?

On social media over the summer, some offseason workout videos of Nurkic working on his 3-point shot emerged. Again, it’s hard to read too much into (edited) offseason clips, especially for a guys who’s a career 28 percent shooter from deep. But his stroke looked good, and it appears this was a point of emphasis for Nurkic over the offseason.

“There definitely has been, I think, intentional work by Nurk and conversations with him about what we think he can do and add and grow, and most obviously is a 3-point shooter,” Budenholzer said. “And he’s done it a little bit in his past and we’re gonna push that envelope.

“But yeah, he’s been given instruction to work on and shoot and practice 3s, and we’re gonna want to see that in games.”

We haven’t been able to see it in preseason, since Nurk has missed all four games with a left middle finger injury, but his teammates seem to believe in his progress.

“I think he’s gonna fit really well with what coach is trying to do,” Mason Plumlee said. “He’s shot the ball really well since I’ve been here.”

For his part, Nurkic appreciated his coach’s transparency about what is expected of him. He’s excited to let ’em fly, but he’s also approaching it with the right mindset.

“I’m excited, man,” Nurk said. “I feel like since day one coach Bud  came and having great conversation with him man to man, and then he come over, visit me [at] home. Was really helpful to see the way we want to play. It doesn’t mean I’m gonna just shoot 10 3s a game — I wish, but not gonna happen. And especially as a team, we want to get better there, attempting and making more 3s.”

The other strengths and weaknesses of Jusuf Nurkic

Let’s pretend that Budenholzer’s latest transformation project fails to materialize and Jusuf Nurkic stops taking 3s a few months into the season. In that worst-case scenario, it’s worth taking a look at his underrated strengths…and his well-documented weaknesses.

On the strengths side, Nurk brings a lot to the table as a brick wall screen-setter. He ranked in the 97th percentile in screen assists per 75 possessions, and he was actually fourth in the entire NBA in screen assists per game.

Being able to make contact on screens to free up his superstar ball-handlers is a quietly valuable thing, especially since Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and even Grayson Allen and Tyus Jones only need an inch of space to get up a good look:

Mike Budenholzer touched on another major one at Media Day.

“Obviously we feel like there’s ways where he can impact the game in a really positive way offensively, but not just 3-point shooting,” Budenholzer explained. “There’s lots of things that — Nurk’s an incredible passer, his skill, his IQ, his vision, as you watch film and study him, it’s pretty unique.”

Nurkic’s playmaking is another useful attribute. Like Mason Plumlee and Oso Ighodaro, Nurk is a skilled passing big who can serve as a facilitating hub from the perimeter or from the elbows while the Big 3 run split cuts off him. He knows how to throw crisp bounce passes to backdoor cutters, and in Year 2, he should be able to build that chemistry, especially with Beal and Durant.

Beal, who says he “lived off” dribble handoffs in Washington, appreciates Nurk’s ability to function in that capacity and find him on backdoor cuts when the defender overplays the handoff. He believes the passing ability of the Suns’ three bigs is tailor-made for their personnel.

“That’s one thing I love about Nurk, just his ability to be able to playmake,” Beal said. “The staff loves that he’s able to do that.”

Nurk is also good in the short roll, catching the ball and finding open shooters on the perimeter with some nifty passes, or probing the paint off the dribble before finding the open man against a collapsing defense. Even when Nurk doesn’t get the direct assist, his vision serves as connective tissue for good ball movement.

Of course, as a high-usage big, Nurkic turned the ball over quite a bit. Aside from the illegal screens that he and Drew Eubanks frequently got whistled for, Nurk would get overly ambitious with some of his backdoor feeds, and the timing and chemistry with his teammates could still use some work.

And remember those rim struggles? Because Nurk was so focused on creating contact rather than getting up a good shot, he was prone to getting stripped by defenders who out-maneuvered around him when he dropped his shoulder. According to Cleaning The Glass, Nurk’s 18.2 turnover percentage ranked in the 10th percentile at his position.

Some of the concerns with Jusuf Nurkic also extend to the defensive end. He’s not fleet-footed on switches, especially when he’s tired, and that leaves him prone to blow-bys like these ones from an early-season loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

With that being said, Nurk actually performed better than people gave him credit for on that end last year. He was surprisingly capable in drop coverage, and even at the level of the screen when he was fully engaged. He held opponents to 8.6 percent worse shooting at the rim than normal, which ranked in the league’s 89th percentile, and he also placed in the 92nd percentile in rim contests per 75 possessions.

Those numbers don’t factor in blow-bys, and Nurk only ranked in the 59th percentile in perimeter isolation defense. But for the most part, he was active, displayed an ability to execute drop coverage, and generally did what Vogel wanted on that end.

One thing that might help with his mobility on the perimeter is that Nurk slimmed down over the summer. He objects to the word “smaller” being used to describe his physique, but he says he’s down from his previous listed weight of 290 pounds.

“I don’t like the word ‘smaller,’ but yeah, definitely lighter than that,” he said with a laugh. “It’s just the new NBA, the way we move and just I think precaution for me to stay healthier….I’m lighter, moving better. My No. 1 goal was just get healthier with the things I was dealing with so much through the last season. But overall, I’m really in a great spot, probably the best I’ve been in a long time and family situation, everything. So looking forward for a great year, man — personally for me, the best one.”

Get used to Jusuf Nurkic

We’ve already covered this in full detail, but the trade options for Jusuf Nurkic aren’t exactly plentiful with all the restrictions Phoenix faces as a second tax apron team. There aren’t any starting-caliber centers available for trade in that salary range, so as much as Suns fans have their issues with Nurk’s defense and finishing at the rim, it’s hard to see how that situation changes over the next year.

For better or for worse, he still might be the make-or-break piece for this team’s title hopes.

From Nurk’s perspective, he’s getting more comfortable in Phoenix, on and off the court. He’s taken on a bit of a mentor role with rookie Oso Ighodaro, who shares his knack for playmaking at the center spot. Ighodaro says Nurk is always telling him to hop in with him after practice in drills, where they’ll go through ball screen angles and things of that nature.

“Just the way they read defenses, obviously I thought I was really good at that at the college level, and then you get here, and it’s a whole new level to it,” Ighodaro said. “So I’ve just been loving watching them and trying to learn as much as I can since I’ve been out here.”

Over the summer, Nurkic also familiarized himself more with Arizona, driving around the state and exploring the Grand Canyon. He’s been vocal on social media about how much he enjoys being in the desert, and overall, it sounds like he’s in a good headspace entering the new season.

“Basketball-wise, I think it really helps having the same house and being able to meet everyone in the organization and having time with them,” Nurkic said. “And I think from basketball and personal life, it’s amazing to be [in my] second year. But I’m looking for 10 more years. This my second year, so I ain’t leaving, man.”

More 2024-25 Suns season previews

• Collin Gillespie: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• TyTy Washington: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Jalen Bridges: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Ryan Dunn: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Oso Ighodaro: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Bol Bol: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Damion Lee: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Josh Okogie: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Monte Morris: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Mason Plumlee: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Royce O’Neale: Written breakdown | Video breakdown
• Grayson Allen: Written breakdown | Video breakdown