Jusuf Nurkic Makes Rare Franchise History With Utah Jazz

Despite the Utah Jazz falling short of a home win vs. the San Antonio Spurs in a 109-126 loss, it wound up being a memorable night for veteran big man Jusuf Nurkic, who put up an impressive second triple-double of the week.

In the 35 minutes Nurkic played in, he found his way to 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 14 assists for one of his most eye-catching stat lines of the season, coming just one game after his previous triple-double against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a line of 16-18-10.

Jusuf Nurkić's last two games:

16 PTS | 10 AST | 18 REB
17 PTS | 14 AST | 11 REB

He's just the second Jazz player to total back-to-back triple-doubles, joining Pete Maravich! pic.twitter.com/WSyRtUk0EL
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 23, 2026

It's actually a feat that has some historical implications for the franchise, considering Nurkic now comes in as just the second player in Jazz history to ever record a back-to-back triple-doubles.

Nurkic joins the one and only Pete Maravich as the only other player to accomplish that stat line in back-to-back games, showing just how rare the feat is to see for someone in a Jazz uniform through over 50 years of their time as a franchise.

Jusuf Nurkic Makes Jazz History vs. Spurs

In a modern NBA where triple-doubles are seemingly more common than ever, that hasn't quite been the case for the Jazz in recent years, who haven't had someone like a Nikola Jokic or Russell Westbrook loading up the box score to have that consistent level of dominance.

However, Nurkic managed to stamp his name in the history books with a couple of quality performances, showing just how valuable he's able to be in the Jazz's frontcourt, particularly with his rebounding ability and keen playmaking sense that's got him averaging the most assists per game he's ever logged in his career.

Jan 19, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) fouls San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

Now in his 35 games played for the Jazz this season, Nurkic's numbers are up to 11.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, shooting 50.3% from the field and 34.4% from three.

With an average stat line of 11-10-4, Nurkic is now one of three players to average those numbers throughout the 2025-26 season— the other two being All-Star-level players in Atlanta Hawks' forward Jalen Johnson, along with three-time MVP of the Denver Nuggets, Nikola Jokic.

Games like this certainly give the Jazz good reason to keep him onboard for the rest of the season, but as trade rumors inevitably creep up with the deadline just two weeks away from transpiring, seeing a move go down revolving around Nurkic might not be out of the question.

Until that deadline arrives at the top of next month, though, expect Nurkic to continue filling his role as the Jazz's starting center in place of the injured Walker Kessler as he has all season, potentially while continuing to put up some similar nice numbers on the box score in the process.

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