Cedevita Zagreb (2012–2014) In October 2012, after a few months of training with Croatian team
Cedevita, Nurkić signed a contract with Cedevita Zagreb. In his first season with Cedevita, Nurkić had a small role in the team under head coach
Aleksandar Petrović, mostly playing in garbage time. In the
Euroleague, Nurkić played in only six games, averaging 1.8 points per game. In January 2013, he was loaned to
Zadar until the end of the season on his initiative, hoping to play more minutes. In Nurkić's second season under new head coach
Jasmin Repeša, he had breakthroughs in the regional
Adriatic League, averaging 11.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, for only 16.3 minutes spent on the court. This was attributed mainly to foul troubles and conditioning issues. In 2014, Nurkić was nominated for the
FIBA Europe Young Player of the Year Award.
Denver Nuggets (2014–2017) On 26 June 2014, Nurkić was selected by the
Chicago Bulls with the 16th overall pick in the
2014 NBA draft. He was later traded to the
Denver Nuggets on draft night. On 31 July, Nurkić signed his rookie scale contract with the Nuggets. On 29 October 2014, Nurkić made his NBA debut, recording five points and seven rebounds in an 89–79 victory over the
Detroit Pistons. On 1 January 2015, Nurkić had his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 106–101 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Two days later, Nurkić recorded his second career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five blocks in a 114–85 victory over the
Memphis Grizzlies. Nurkić went on to record two more double-doubles in February. In the regular-season finale against the
Golden State Warriors, Nurkić scored a season-high 17 points in a 133–126 loss. On 11 October 2015, the Nuggets exercised their third-year team option on Nurkić's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season. After being inactive for the first two months of the season due to recovering from his torn left patellar tendon, Nurkić made his 2015–16 season debut on 2 January against the Warriors and finished the 111–108 overtime loss with three points and two rebounds. Four days later, Nurkić had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in a 78–74 victory over the
Minnesota Timberwolves. On 12 March, he scored a season-high 17 points in a 116–100 victory over the
Washington Wizards. Nurkić topped that mark twice in late March, scoring 18 points against the
Los Angeles Lakers on 25 March, and 19 points against the
Los Angeles Clippers on 27 March. On 8 April, he scored a career-high 21 points in a 102–98 victory over the
San Antonio Spurs. In the Nuggets' 2016–17 season opener on 26 October 2016, Nurkić set a new career high with 23 points in a 107–102 victory over the
New Orleans Pelicans. Five days later, he had 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in a 105–102 loss to the
Toronto Raptors. After
Nikola Jokić emerged as Denver's starting center, Nurkić was demoted to the bench. The demotion to the bench did not sit well with Nurkić, and he was not afraid to voice his displeasure with the situation, requesting to be traded twice, first in April 2016 and then again in December 2016. The Nuggets eventually granted Nurkić his wish 10 days before the 2017 trade deadline.
Portland Trail Blazers (2017–2023) First years in Portland (2017–2019) On 13 February 2017, Nurkić was traded, along with the rights to the
Memphis Grizzlies' 2017 first round draft pick, to the
Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for
Mason Plumlee, a 2018 second round pick and cash considerations. Nurkić made his debut for the Trail Blazers on 15 February, recording 13 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench in a 111–88 loss to the
Utah Jazz. Nurkić made his first start for the Trail Blazers in the next game eight days later following the
NBA All-Star break, recording 12 points and 12 rebounds in a 112–103 victory over the
Orlando Magic. On 2 March, he had 18 points, 12 rebounds, a career-high six assists, and five blocks in a 114–109 victory over the
Oklahoma City Thunder. Exactly a week later, Nurkić had a career-high 28 points and 20 rebounds in a 114–108 overtime victory over the
Philadelphia 76ers. He also had eight assists and six blocks, becoming the first NBA player to post at least 28 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists, and six blocks in a game since
Charles Barkley pulled the feat in November 1986. On 28 March, Nurkić set a new career high with 33 points to go along with 15 rebounds in a 122–113 victory over his former team, the Nuggets. Three days later, Nurkić was ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a non-displaced fracture in his right leg. On 22 April 2017, Nurkić returned to action in Game 3 of the Trail Blazers' first-round playoff series against the
Golden State Warriors, after having missed the final seven games of the regular season and the first two playoff games at Golden State. He finished the 119–113 loss with two points and 11 rebounds as the Trail Blazers went down 3–0 in the series. Nurkić went on to miss Game 4 of the series, as the Trail Blazers bowed out of the playoffs with a 4–0 series loss to the Warriors. On 24 November 2017, Nurkić recorded 29 points and 15 rebounds in a 127–125 victory over the
Brooklyn Nets. On 18 January 2018, he had 19 points and a season-high 17 rebounds in a 100–86 victory over the
Indiana Pacers. On 9 April, Nurkić recorded 20 points and 19 rebounds in an 88–82 loss to the Nuggets. In Game 4 of the Trail Blazers' first-round playoff series against the
New Orleans Pelicans, Nurkić had 18 points and 11 rebounds in a 131–123 loss. The loss eliminated Portland from the playoffs, as they lost the series in a four-game sweep. On 6 July 2018, Nurkić re-signed with the Trail Blazers. On 22 October, he recorded 22 points and 18 rebounds in a narrow 125–124 overtime loss to the
Washington Wizards. On 18 November, Nurkić had 13 points, 14 rebounds, and matched his career high with eight assists in a 119–109 victory over the Wizards. Two days later, Nurkić recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 118–114 victory over the
New York Knicks, thus recording his career-best fifth straight double-double. On 27 December, Nurkić had 27 points and 12 rebounds in a narrow 110–109 overtime victory over the Warriors. On 1 January 2019, Nurkić logged a career-high 23 rebounds in a 113–108 overtime win against the
Sacramento Kings, while also putting up an impressive stat line of 24 points, seven assists, five blocks, and five steals in that game. This performance marked a historic milestone, as it was the first ever game since the official recording of steals and blocks in 1973, where a player achieved 20+ points, 20+ rebounds, 5+ assists, 5+ blocks, and 5+ steals for an official 5x5. Ten days later, Nurkić had 11 points, 11 rebounds, and tied career highs with eight assists and six blocks in a 127–96 victory over the
Charlotte Hornets, becoming the third player in NBA history to record such a stat line in fewer than 30 minutes. On 16 January, he recorded his first career triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 129–112 victory over the
Cleveland Cavaliers.
Injury-plagued seasons (2019–2023) On 25 March 2019, Nurkić suffered a
compound fracture of his left
tibia and
fibula in the second overtime of the
Portland Trail Blazers 148–144 victory over the
Brooklyn Nets. Nurkić had a season-high 32 points and 16 rebounds before the injury. The Trail Blazers confirmed that it was a season-ending injury the same night. Nurkic was expected to return from his injury on 15 March 2020. However, with the
suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Nurkić did not make his return until 31 July, in a 140–135 overtime victory over the
Memphis Grizzlies, where he recorded 18 points, nine rebounds, and six blocks. On 14 January 2021, Nurkić fractured his right wrist in a 111–87 blowout loss to the
Indiana Pacers. Nurkić returned on 26 March, recording eight points and eight rebounds in a 112–105 victory over the
Orlando Magic. On 23 April, he logged a season-high 26 points in a 130–128 loss to the
Memphis Grizzlies. On 6 January 2022, during the fourth quarter of a 115–109 loss to the
Miami Heat, Nurkić was ejected from the game after an altercation with Heat guard
Tyler Herro. The next day, the NBA fined both Nurkić and Herro $25,000 each for the incident. On 22 January, Nurkic scored 29 points, including a go-ahead basket with 13 seconds left, and grabbed 17 rebounds in a 109–105 victory over the
Boston Celtics. On 22 March, he was fined $40,000 by the NBA for a confrontation with a fan two days earlier after a 129–98 blowout loss to the
Indiana Pacers, during which Nurkić threw the fan's phone into the stands. Six days later, Nurkić was ruled out for the remainder of the season with
plantar fasciitis in his left foot. On 6 July 2022, Nurkić re-signed with the Trail Blazers on a four-year, $70 million contract.
Phoenix Suns (2023–2025) On 27 September 2023, Nurkić, alongside
Grayson Allen,
Nassir Little, and
Keon Johnson was traded to the
Phoenix Suns as part of a three-team trade that sent
Damian Lillard to the
Milwaukee Bucks and
Jrue Holiday,
Deandre Ayton,
Toumani Camara and a 2029 first-round draft pick to the Trail Blazers. Nurkić made his Suns debut on 24 October, recording a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds, including a game-securing driving lay-up, in a 108–104 victory over the
Golden State Warriors. On 8 November, Nurkić recorded 20 points, 17 rebounds, and eight assists alongside a game-winning floater in a narrow 116–115 overtime victory over the
Chicago Bulls. On 3 March 2024, Nurkić recorded a career-high 31 rebounds alongside 14 points in a 118–110 loss to the
Oklahoma City Thunder, marking the most rebounds in a game by a player since 2010. He also broke the Suns franchise record for most rebounds by a player in a game, which was previously held by
Tyson Chandler. On 28 December 2024, Nurkić was suspended for three games without pay for an altercation involving both
Naji Marshall and
P. J. Washington during a game against the
Dallas Mavericks. With the Suns sitting at 15–18 to begin the 2025 part of their 2024–25 campaign, the Suns elected to move Nurkić to the bench in favor of
Mason Plumlee, beginning with their 6 January 2025 game against the
Philadelphia 76ers. He would later miss out on playing time altogether starting on their 9 January game against the
Atlanta Hawks as well.
Charlotte Hornets (2025) On 6 February 2025, Nurkić was traded to the
Charlotte Hornets alongside a 2026 first-round pick in exchange for
Cody Martin,
Vasilije Micić, and a 2026 second-round pick.
Utah Jazz (2025–present) On 29 June 2025, Nurkić was traded to the
Utah Jazz in exchange for
Collin Sexton and a 2030 second-round pick. On 25 January 2026, Nurkić became the first player in franchise history to record three
triple doubles in a row. He made 41 total appearances (including 36 starts) for the Jazz, averaging 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. On 23 February, it was announced that Nurkić would be undergoing a season-ending nose surgery. ==National team career==