Nick Nurse, who guided the Toronto Raptors to an NBA title in 2019, was on Thursday named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Nurse became the ninth coach to win an NBA title in his first season as coach and was named the NBA's Coach of the Year in 2020.
"Nick has solidified himself as one of the NBA's best coaches," 76ers majority owner 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's 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."
Nurse, a 55-year-old American, spent five seasons coaching the Raptors before he was fired in April after Toronto failed to reach the NBA playoffs. He oversaw the Raptors' franchise-best 53-19 campaign in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season and went 227-163 during his stay in Toronto.
"I'm honored to be named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers," Nurse said. "It has 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 replaces Glenn "Doc" Rivers, who was fired last month after the 76ers were eliminated by Boston in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
"We're absolutely thrilled to welcome Nick Nurse," said team president of operations Daryl Morey. "His championship pedigree and diversity of experience mixed with his uniquely creative approach made him our top priority."
"We're confident that his leadership and expertise will help us unlock the full potential of our talented roster."
Nurse takes charge of a Sixers squad that includes NBA Most Valuable Player and league top scorer for the last two seasons Joel Embiid and star guard James Harden, the 2018 NBA MVP and a three-time NBA scoring champion.
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