It was a historic night on Sunday for Jusuf Nurkic in Phoenix when it came to snatching balls off missed shots. The 29-year-old center grabbed an incredible 31 rebounds, 13 of which came on the offensive end.
The Phoenix Suns grabbed 50 rebounds on Sunday, meaning the seven-footer totaled 62% of the team’s rebounds. Nurkic also finished with 13 of the team’s 15 boards on the offensive end. He played 32 minutes total, so he missed out on a rebound per minute. 12 of his rebounds came in the first quarter, where he played just seven minutes.
His relentless work on the glass went for naught as the Suns fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder by the score of 118-110. Nonetheless, that shouldn’t take away from the tireless effort that Nurkic showed.
Jusuf Nurkic’s Rebounding Effort Not Seen Since 2010
New Team Record and Personal-Best Effort on Boards for Nurkic
The Suns have been an NBA franchise since the 1968-69 season. Now in their 56th season, the most rebounds by a player in a game for the team before Sunday was done by Tyson Chandler. He finished with 27 during a game in April of 2016 against the Atlanta Hawks.
Jusuf Nurkic finished tonight’s game with 31 rebounds 🤯
▪️ Suns franchise record for most rebounds in a game
▪️ Most rebounds by any player since the 2010-11 NBA season pic.twitter.com/PUYO2tUMo2— NBA (@NBA) March 4, 2024
Nurkic’s previous best total in a game was 23. It occurred in January 2019, and he was then with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Bosnian’s previous season-high in 2023-24 was 22, which he accomplished twice.
Nurkic is now up to 10.7 rebounds per game, which placed him seventh in the NBA this season. The 10-year veteran has a career-high of 11.1 in 2021-22 with Portland. This would be the fourth time in the last six seasons that Nurkic has averaged double figures in rebounding.
A Rebounding Total Not Seen in 14 Years
It is not very often that a player can grab more than 30 rebounds in a single game. As a matter of fact, it hadn’t been done since way back in 2010.
Last 4 players with over 30 boards in a game:
Jusuf Nurkic (tonight)
Kevin Love (2010)
Charles Barkley (1996)
Dikembe Mutombo (1996) pic.twitter.com/X6IyRHxlve— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 4, 2024
Kevin Love secured 31 rebounds while with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 12, 2010, against the New York Knicks. You would have to go back another 14 years for the last time before that when someone grabbed more than 30 rebounds when Charles Barkley and Dikembe Mutombo were able to do so.
While it’s an incredible feat, in all likelihood, Nurkic would have traded it for a win. The loss dropped Phoenix to 35-26, seventh in the Western Conference. They are percentage points behind the sixth-place Sacramento Kings and a game back of the fifth-place New Orleans Pelicans. A top-six seed is needed to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Suns have the fifth-best odds to win the championship at +1800. They are behind the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks.
