Nick Nurse facts for kids
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Nurse at the Raptors championship parade in 2019
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| Philadelphia 76ers | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | July 24, 1967 Carroll, Iowa, U.S. |
| High school | Kuemper Catholic (Carroll, Iowa) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Career information | |
| College | Northern Iowa (1985–1989) |
| Pro career | 1990–1991 |
| Coaching career | 1989–present |
| League | NBA |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1990–1991 | Derby Rams |
| As coach: | |
| 1989–1990 | Northern Iowa (assistant) |
| 1990–1991 | Derby Rams (player-coach) |
| 1991–1993 | Grand View |
| 1993–1995 | South Dakota (assistant) |
| 1995–1997 | Birmingham Bullets |
| 1998 | Telindus Oostende |
| 1998–2000 | Manchester Giants |
| 2000–2001 | London Towers |
| 2001 | Oklahoma Storm (assistant) |
| 2001–2006 | Brighton Bears |
| 2005 | Oklahoma Storm (assistant) |
| 2007–2011 | Iowa Energy |
| 2011–2013 | Rio Grande Valley Vipers |
| 2013–2018 | Toronto Raptors (assistant) |
| 2018–2023 | Toronto Raptors |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As head coach:
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Nicholas David Nurse (born July 24, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach. He is currently the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before this, he coached the Toronto Raptors. He led the Raptors to an NBA championship in 2019. He was also named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2020.
Nurse played college basketball for the Northern Iowa Panthers. He also played professional basketball for a short time with the Derby Rams in the British Basketball League.
Contents
Early Life and College Basketball
Nicholas David Nurse was born on July 24, 1967, in Carroll, Iowa. He went to Kuemper Catholic School System where he was a great basketball player.
Nurse played college basketball at the University of Northern Iowa from 1985 to 1989. He played in 111 games during his college career. He holds the school record for the highest three-point shooting percentage. In his last year, he also worked as a student assistant coach for the team. Nurse earned a degree in accounting in 1990.
Playing Career
Playing in England
In the 1990–91 season, Nurse became a player-coach for the Derby Rams in the British Basketball League. After this season, he decided to focus only on coaching. He never played professionally again.
Coaching Journey
Early Coaching Days
Nurse started his coaching career as a student assistant at Northern Iowa in 1989. In 1991, at just 23 years old, he became the head coach at Grand View University. He was the youngest college basketball head coach in the country at that time. He coached there for two seasons. After that, he was an assistant coach at the University of South Dakota for two seasons.
Coaching in Europe
Nurse spent 11 seasons coaching basketball in Europe. Most of this time was in the British Basketball League (BBL). He won two BBL championships as a head coach. He won with the Birmingham Bullets in 1996 and with the Manchester Giants in 2000. He also helped the London Towers in the Euroleague. Nurse was named the BBL Coach of the Year twice, in 2000 and 2004. He also coached for Telindus Oostende in Belgium in 1998. He was an assistant coach for the Oklahoma Storm in the United States in 2001 and 2005.
NBA G League Success
In 2007, Nurse became the head coach for the Iowa Energy. This team was part of the NBA D-League, which is now called the NBA G League. His team won division titles in the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons.
Nurse returned to coach the Iowa Energy in the 2010–11 season. He won the Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year Award after leading Iowa to the best record in the league. Nurse and the Energy then won the 2011 D-League championship.
Before the 2011–12 season, Nurse moved to coach another D-League team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In the 2012–13 season, the Vipers had a great record and won the D-League finals. They beat the Santa Cruz Warriors in two games. During his six seasons in the D-League, 23 players from his teams were called up to play in the NBA.
Toronto Raptors (2013–2023)
In July 2013, Nurse joined the Toronto Raptors as an assistant coach. He worked under head coach Dwane Casey. Nurse was in charge of the Raptors' offense. He helped change their offensive strategy, leading to more passing and three-point shots. This improved offense helped the Raptors win a team-record 59 games in the 2017–18 season.
On June 14, 2018, the Raptors promoted Nurse to head coach. In his first season, he led the Raptors to a 58–24 record. With star player Kawhi Leonard and rising player Pascal Siakam, the Raptors reached the 2019 NBA Finals. They won the Eastern Conference Championship by defeating the Milwaukee Bucks. On June 13, 2019, Nurse made history. He became the first head coach to win both an NBA championship and an NBA D-League/G League title. The Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, winning their first championship ever.
In Nurse's second season, the Raptors finished with a 53–19 record. This was impressive because they had lost Kawhi Leonard. Nurse was praised for his creative coaching. He was also a head coach in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. On August 22, 2020, Nurse was named NBA Coach of the Year. However, the Raptors were eliminated in the conference semifinals that year.
Nurse signed a new contract with the Raptors in September 2020. After a challenging 2020–21 season, Nurse led the team back to the playoffs in 2022. On April 21, 2023, the Raptors decided to part ways with Nurse.
Philadelphia 76ers (2023–Present)
On June 1, 2023, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that Nurse was their new head coach. His past experience coaching against their star player, Joel Embiid, was seen as a helpful advantage.
In the 2023–24 season, Nurse led the 76ers to a 47–35 record. They won a play-in tournament game but were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The 2024–25 season ended with the 76ers missing the playoffs.
National Team Coaching
Nurse was an assistant coach for the Great Britain national team from 2009 to 2012. This included coaching at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
On June 24, 2019, Nurse was named the head coach of the Canadian men's national team. He coached them in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He resigned from this role on June 27, 2023.
Personal Life
Nurse is married to Roberta and they have three sons.
In 2022, Nurse earned a Ph.D. in Sports Leadership from Concordia University Chicago. In June 2025, he received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University in Toronto, Canada.
Film and Television
Nurse has appeared in a few television shows.
- In 2022, he was a locker room attendant in an episode of Murdoch Mysteries.
- In 2023, he played Officer Nick in Pretty Hard Cases.
Images for kids
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Nurse at the Raptors championship parade in 2019
See also
In Spanish: Nick Nurse para niños
