Breaking: Philadelphia 76ers to hire Nick Nurse as head coach

The search for the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers has come to a conclusion. With a bevy of qualified candidates, from Mike Budenholzer and Sam Cassell to Monty Williams and Mike D’Antoni, the Sixers landed on former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse according to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

Nurse has over 30 years of coaching experience between the British Basketball League, the NCAA, the NBA’s D League, and finally, the NBA itself with the Toronto Raptors. In his first season in Toronto, Nurse notably took the franchise to heights not yet seen, winning both their first Conference Finals and NBA Finals in 2019. En route to this, 76ers fans will remember Kawhi Leonard’s infamous “quadruple bounce” that sent the Sixers home in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Over five seasons, the Toronto Raptors boasted a 58.2% winning percentage under Nick Nurse. They also made the playoffs in three of those four seasons.

Nurse was in discussions with both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns for their head coaching vacancies earlier this season. After removing himself from the Bucks’ search earlier this week, it seemed he was destined to end up in either Phoenix or Philadelphia. While both teams have quality stars and bright futures ahead of them, the Sixers’ pitch edged out the Suns in the end.

For Philadelphia, the 76ers are hoping Nurse will bring a much-needed fresh voice to the team’s locker room. For Nurse, he will have the opportunity to coach the League’s reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, and one of its young rising stars, Tyrese Maxey.

Nurse is familiar with Philadelphia 76ers’ President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey, as the two worked together with the Houston Rockets organization while Nurse coached the G League Rio Grande Vipers.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, Nurse and the Philadelphia 76ers are working on signing a multi-year deal to make him the long-term solution at head coach.