Report: New Details Emerge Regarding Jusuf Nurkić’s Altercation With Fan in Indiana

Portland’s center was fined $40,000 on Tuesday.
Report: New Details Emerge Regarding Jusuf Nurkić’s Altercation With Fan in Indiana
Report: New Details Emerge Regarding Jusuf Nurkić’s Altercation With Fan in Indiana /

New details have emerged about the altercation between Blazers center Jusuf Nurkić and fan in Indiana that took place Sunday afternoon.

In a video that surfaced postgame, Nurkić, who was inactive for the game due to a plantar fasciitis injury, approached a group of fans standing courtside. He then grabbed a fans’ phone and tossed it deeper into the stands before walking away without appearing to say anything.

A new report Tuesday may provide an explanation on the incident. According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the fan yelled at Nurkić “your mom is trash” and said his “grandma’s a b----.”

Nurkić’s grandmother died of COVID-19 in August of 2020, the Blazers center announced on Instagram at the time.

Nurkić was fined $40,000 by the league on Tuesday for “confronting a fan courtside and grabbing the fan’s cellphone and throwing it into the spectator stands.” The NBA did not comment on the latest report from Yahoo Sports.

Nurkić has not played since Feb. 16 due to the foot injury. He averaged 15.0 points and 11.1 rebounds in 56 games this season. 

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.