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Suns center Jusuf Nurkic asks why Americans have so many guns

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated03 Oct 2023

Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic asks why Americans have so many guns

Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic was asked on NBA Media Day about what he feels puzzles him the most about American culture, and the 7-footer gave quite a controversial response when he mentioned guns. Nurkic, 29, was born and raised in Živinice, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Understand where he’s coming from. The Bosnian War lasted from 1992 to 1995. The main belligerents were the forces of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, those of Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and Republika Srpska, quasi-state led and supplied by Croatia and Serbia, respectively. This war was part of the breakup of Yugoslavia.

“I still don’t know why people have so many guns,” Jusuf Nurkic said. “And I feel like, I still don’t understand to this day, because I feel the kids should be safe in our schools.


“I think personally, when you see even the fake guns on social media and kids in schools it’s a bad thing and sometimes you can’t control certain things with this media, all the social media we have platforms. But I think our kids, if we can secure them, the better world going forward it will definitely be without guns.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a murder rate of 0.4 homicides by firearms per 100,000 population. Nurkic lives in Phoenix, Arizona, where the homicide rate is 7.9 per 100,000 population. One thing to keep in mind is that oftentimes suicides by gun in the U.S. are oftentimes included in these statistics.

The U.S.’s crime statistics leave more questions rather than answers. America’s population is about 330 million people. Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s population is approximately 3.5 million. Fewer people live there than California, New York, Florida, Texas, and even Arizona.

Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic asks why Americans own so many guns, feels kids should be able to feel safe in schools

About 7.3 million people live in Arizona. According to World Population Review, Maine has the lowest murder rate for a state in the U.S. Maine’s homicide rate is 1.7 per 100,000 population, which is comparable to Finland or Sweden. Note that Maine’s population is 1.4 million people.

Idaho has the second-lowest figure, with a murder rate of 2.2 per 100,000. So, what do these statistics all mean? First and foremost, each state has its own problems. Some states and cities are safer than others.

Smaller, homogeneous countries in Europe are expected to have less crime. Unlike the U.S., each European nation is not a melting pot where diverse cultures and ethnicities live together. Their societies are not multicultural. There is no fair comparison. The Suns center should be well aware of this.

Differences in politics, religion, and social norms lead to division, needless to say. The U.S. is only 247 years old, but the nation has already fought in more wars than the average American can keep track of. Since the American Revolution, each individual has owned the right to bear arms via the Second Amendment.


Even with stricter gun laws, criminals will still find a way to obtain firearms. Chicago is the textbook example. As for school shootings, this is a modern culture issue that has nothing to do with guns. When social media was nonexistent throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, mass shootings were extremely rare.

America has always had millions of guns, but it has never always had shootings in schools, concerts, grocery stores, movie theaters, churches, or malls, especially not at the rate people have seen here in this 21st century.

Therefore, for the most logical response to Jusuf Nurkic’s take, America has a lot of guns because the U.S. Government is perceived as corrupt. It seems the majority of folks are unable to trust the political system.

From a 20-year war in the Middle East to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone should be concerned about America’s future. 9/11 was arguably the turning point. Honesty is one of the biggest issues. A lack of trust creates fear and resentment.

Evident by the Vietnam War and ongoing war in the Ukraine, no one should ever give up their right to bear arms. Our future is bleak. Americans have a lot of registered guns because it also has a huge population. Unfortunately, when cultures and subgroups clash, this can lead to problems on a nationwide scale.

In the end, the Suns center does have a point.

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