,Jusuf Nurkić, Nassir Little and Drew Eubanks have all three been key players for the Suns this season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This is their first season away from the Portland Trail Blazers after all had deep connections to the city.
Nurkić and Little were two of the returnees that Phoenix got in the Deandre Ayton trade. Eubanks signed with the Suns this offseason before this trade even went down.
The Suns (14-12) and Blazers (6-19) did square off earlier this season on Nov. 21, as Phoenix beat Portland 120-107 in an NBA In-Season Tournament game.
Nurkić had 18 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. Little played what was then a season-high 22 minutes and posted 13 points and five rebounds. The 13 points are still a season high for him. Eubanks tacked on seven points off the bench.
“I love it,” Nurkić said after the game about playing his former team. “I have a lot of respect, a lot of love for the people there from top to bottom, just love being able to share the floor against them and compete. It’s great for me to see familiar faces and people and just to be around them for a little bit.”
All three of the players have had nothing but positive things to say about their former team when questioned about them this season.
Jusuf Nurkić
The 6-foot-11 Nurkić, 29, averaged 13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 52 games played and started for the Blazers last season. He was traded to Portland in the 2016-17 season from Denver. The Bulls selected him with the 16th overall pick in 2014, but he only played for the Nuggets and Blazers before the Suns.
In total, he played in 324 regular season games for Portland across seven seasons. He averaged 14.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 51% shooting in 27 minutes per game for his Portland career.
This season, he is the only Suns’ starter to not have missed a single game so far. He enters tonight having recorded 12 or more rebounds in the last four games. On the year, he is averaging 12.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steals.
Coach Frank Vogel has consistently praised Nurkić’s ability to adjust to the team’s system throughout the year. Vogel talked about him extensively after Sunday’s 112-108 victory over the Washington Wizards. Nurkić had six points, 17 rebounds and five assists in this game.
The full quote: “He was terrific. We’re coaching him hard on what to do on the defensive side of the ball. I think there were some possessions against the Knicks where we felt like he could have attacked the basketball or protected the rim better. Obviously, he’s not going to be flying around out there, but he’s got great size, great hands, and is long. So, we want him to really be a presence at the rim. It wasn’t great against New York, but he was really great in the second half tonight, and not just at the rim, but his mobility in pick-and-rolls. We’re continuing to learn our team and figure out the best way to put them in positions to succeed on both sides. But defensively with (Nurkić), his ability to jump out and just impact the ball at the point of the screen was excellent tonight. He did a great job.”
Nurkić will look to continue his strong play against his former team tonight.
Nassir Little
Little spent all four of his previous years in Portland with the Blazers after being selected 25th overall out of North Carolina in 2019.
In his time with Portland, he appeared in 192 contests, averaging six points and 3.2 rebounds in 17.1 minutes per game.
This season with the Suns, he has really burst onto the scene as of late, making the most of his increased minutes due to the Suns’ never-ending injury bug.
Little is averaging 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 49.3% from the floor. The 6-foot-6 forward is constantly tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best defender.
Little has played 23+ minutes in the past three games and got his first start this season during Sunday’s victory, so we will see if this trend continues tonight.
Drew Eubanks
Eubanks has the deepest roots to the area out of all three of these players. He played high school basketball at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon and later went on to play for Oregon State in college.
Eubanks signed as an undrafted free agent with the Spurs in 2018 and made his way up to being the team’s backup center heading into the 2020 season. The Spurs traded him away to the Raptors at the trade deadline in 2022, and he wound up signing a 10-day contract with Portland before impressing enough to be offered a standard contract.
He played 1.5 seasons in Portland, starting all 22 of the games he played for Portland in the last half of the 2021-22 season. The 6-foot-10 Eubanks played in 78 games for the Blazers last season and was a consistent option for them, averaging 6.6 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.3 BPG and 0.5 SPG on 64/39/66 splits.
"I'm excited."
Optional shootaround.
No Kevin Durant, Devin Booker but talked with Drew Eubanks on return, #Suns changes.
"Coaches have heard some of what we've been saying. Simplifying things."
Eubanks from Troutdale, played at Oregon State, for Blazers.
Saben Lee incoming. https://t.co/NBxz6yuiZw pic.twitter.com/yu9U06iCQh
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) December 19, 2023
The Suns were charged a second-round pick for tampering to sign Eubanks this offseason. He’s had some ups and downs for Phoenix, but been a decent backup option. He did have a strong performance on Sunday, recording 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and five rebounds.
On the season, he has played in 25 out of 26 games and is averaging 6.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 60% from the floor. He averages 17.1 minutes per game.
Eubanks will look to build off Sunday’s performance tonight.
Tonight’s game tips off at 8 p.m. MST.
Jusuf Nurkić Speaks on Playing Former Team for First Time after Suns Defeat Blazers 120-107
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
