Source: Omar Rawlings / Getty
After a routine second round exit, the front office of Philadelphia decided it was time to shake things up. Knowing it was time to move on from former head coach Glenn Rivers, Philadelphia knew they needed a breath of fresh air to come into the locker room. A winning coach, who’s resume speaks for itself, and it not afraid to hold their players accountable. Philly found everything they need from their hire in Nick Nurse.
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Nurse has been a respected head coach in the NBA for five years now. Coming from the Toronto Raptors, Nurse has Championship pedigree, and with Kawhi being an introverted personality, was a key component in being the glue that held together his first season with that Championship team. Nurse steps down as head coach from Toronto with a 227-163 record with Toronto, winning the 2019 NBA championship and the 2020 Coach of the Year award during his tenure.
According to ESPN, Joel Embiid will be the first player to win the MVP and start the next season on the same team with a new coach since the Lakers’ Magic Johnson in 1990-91. According to sources close to the Sixers, Nurse’s history with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and desire to coach Embiid played a significant part in his decision to strike a deal with Philadelphia,
“(He’s a) mad scientist,” Ujiri told reporters in 2022, praising Nurse’s head coaching ablility.. “That’s all I can say. Every day he’s thinking. He lives, he sleeps, he drinks the game. Always thinking of all the things that, hopefully, can give us an edge to win.”
Source: Jacob Kupferman / Getty
Nick Nurse will replace Glenn Rivers, who served as Sixers head coach for three years. In those three years, the sixers appeared in three straight conference semifinals appearances and made three straight exits, two of which came from divisional rival Boston Celtics.
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Sixers Hire Nick Nurse as Head Coach; Sixers Fans React was originally published on rnbphilly.com
