Jusuf Nurkic of the Portland Trail Blazers created quite a stir the other day when he was caught on camera confronting a fan during a game against the Indiana Pacers.
After some words were exchanged, Nurkic got in the fan’s face, then grabbed and threw his phone into the stands.
It was an intense moment and one that was definitely going to lead to a fine from the NBA.
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic has been fined $40,000 for confronting a fan and tossing his cell phone.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 22, 2022
Sure enough, it was just announced that Nurkic will be fined $40,000 for confronting the fan and throwing his phone.
However, if the fans said what some are alleging, he’s lucky he walked away with only a damaged phone.
Low Blow
Cameras weren’t able to capture what the fan said to Nurkic to draw his ire.
However, Chris Haynes recently reported that the fan supposedly yelled “Your mom is trash” to Nurkic.
He also allegedly made crude remarks about Nurkic’s grandmother.
Nurkic’s grandmother passed away from COVID-19 in 2020.
If the fan really did say those things to Nurkic then action should also be taken again him, up to and including a ban from attending future games.
There have been quite a few heated moments between players and fans this year, including a few featuring LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and more.
Nurkic’s actions were definitely surprising considering he is usually very cool, calm, and collected.
However, he has every reason to be a bit heated lately.
His Trail Blazers are having a truly awful season, trading away CJ McCollum and losing Damian Lillard due to injury.
Even Nurkic himself is hurt, so he’s been watching games from the sidelines for weeks now.
Because his team is doing so poorly, tensions were probably already high when he was confronted by the fan.
All in all, the entire situation is just bad.
