By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nick Nurse has been officially named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, the club announced. He’s succeeding Doc Rivers who parted ways with the team after the elimination to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Per Sixers:
Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey announced today that Nick Nurse has been named the team’s head coach. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Nurse, the 26th head coach in franchise history, joins Philadelphia after spending five seasons with Toronto (2018-23). The Carroll, Iowa native guided the Raptors to an NBA Championship in his first season as head coach in 2019, becoming the ninth person in NBA history to claim a title in his first year as an NBA head coach.
“Nick has solidified himself as one of the NBA’s best coaches and I’m excited to welcome him to Philadelphia,” Managing Partner Josh Harris said. “Throughout his career, he has won at multiple levels, including on the biggest stage when he led Toronto to the 2019 NBA title. He is a smart, innovative and determined coach who really stood out in this process. No matter the hurdles we’ve faced, our goal remains to bring a championship to Philadelphia and Nick is the right coach to lead us forward.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Nick Nurse as the new head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers,” Morey said. “His championship pedigree and diversity of experience mixed with his uniquely creative approach made him our top priority. We are confident that his leadership and expertise will help us unlock the full potential of our talented roster and bring an exciting new era of championship basketball to Philadelphia.”
Named the ninth coach in Toronto’s franchise history in June 2018, Nurse produced two of the franchise’s top-three winningest seasons, including a franchise-best .736 winning percentage (53-19) in 2019-20 that crowned him as the league’s Coach of the Year. He recorded a 227-163 coaching record in his five seasons in the position, good for the best winning percentage (.582) by any head coach in team history.
“I’m honored to be named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, a storied franchise in a tradition-rich city. Thank you to Josh Harris, David Blitzer and the ownership group for this incredible opportunity,” Nurse said. “It’s been a fun challenge coaching against this group over the last five years. Now, I look forward to coaching the Sixers and doing my part to deliver for this tremendous fanbase.”
Nurse-led Toronto teams qualified for the playoffs in three of his five seasons, posting a .610 postseason winning percentage (25-16), making him one of three active NBA coaches with such a mark. Prior to being named a first-time head coach in 2018, Nurse served as an assistant coach with the Raptors for five seasons from 2013-14 to 2017-18. He has accumulated over 30 years of coaching experience, including a decorated G League career that boasts a pair of championships (2010-11 – Iowa Energy; 2012-13 – Rio Grande Valley Vipers), and a Coach of the Year honor in 2010-11. Nurse is the only head coach in league history to win both championships and Coach of the Year awards in both the NBA and G League.
Additionally, Nurse has served as the head coach of the Canadian Men’s National Team since June 2019.