Apr 13, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic (11) shoots during the second half against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Utah Jazz’s Jusuf Nurkic Faces Huge Concern from Bosnia Coach

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Aug 11, 2025 4:00 PM ET

It looks like there could be some real concern surrounding the current status and shape of recent Utah Jazz acquisition Jusuf Nurkic, who was brought aboard via trade from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Collin Sexton.

The negative buzz surrounding Nurkic comes from his Bosnia head coach, Adis Beciragic, who's leading the way for the Bosnian national team during this year's EuroBasket tournament. but saw his group fall in their latest matchup vs. Montenegro, 102-90; a commanding win in which Montenegro seemed to dominate the entire way through.

However, it was Beciragic's comments following the game that managed to capture some notable attention, effectively calling out Nurkic for being both out of shape and unprepared.

“[Jusuf] Nurkic is out of shape and can barely run," Beciragic said after Bosnia's loss vs. Montenegro. “We have to prepare better for the games. We missed 18 free throws against Serbia. Montenegro is also a very good team and I hope we will be able to convince the players to understand where the problems are."

It's far from the most ideal comment to hear from any head coach, especially for the Jazz when it revolves around one of their newest players to be added onto the roster from this summer.

Nurkic comes off a season split between the Hornets and the Phoenix Suns where he played in 51 total games, averaging 8.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 47.7% shooting from the field.

He still proved to be a name worthy to be thrown into the back-end of an NBA rotation throughout last season, but in the offseason to follow, his conditioning appears to have taken a step back from the state he was once at.

If Nurkic is indeed not quite prepared for EuroBasket, it might not bode well for his future season in Utah set to tip off in just under two months. The NBA game is a vastly different beast than what overseas presents, and if he's not up to par when it comes to his shape, he'll fall out of this Jazz rotation real fast.

Nurkic has a ton of time between now and the start of the 2025-26 campaign to get the arrow pointing in the right direction, but it remains to be seen if he'll make those strides.