NBA
The Toronto Raptors have fired head coach Nick Nurse, he immediately becomes a prominent candidate for Houston’s coaching search
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated5 hours ago on April 19, 2024
After five seasons as head coach of the Toronto Raptors, it was announced today that head coach Nick Nurse has been fired. The Raptors and himself made a miraculous run to the 2019 NBA Finals where they beat the Warriors in six games. While he may be without a job at the moment, NBA insiders have reported that could change very quickly. Nurse is expected to be a prominent candidate in the head coaching search going on with the Houston Rockets.
The 55-year-old spent 10 seasons with Toronto and took over as head coach in 2018-19. That was also the same year that the Raptors made their unbelievable run to the NBA Finals. Toronto was not able to escape the second round of the playoffs after winning the NBA Finals in 2019.
Former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka is expected to be a serious candidate to replace Nurse according to ESPN insider, Adrian Wojnarowski.
Nick Nurse is out as Raptors coach, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/HEKwTAdfUH
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 21, 2023
The Toronto Raptors have fired head coach Nick Nurse after five seasons at the helm
Toronto’s firing of head coach Nick Nurse should not come as a shock to Raptors fans and those who follow the NBA closely. There were rumblings of this happening all season long and it was almost inevitable after the way their season ended. The Raptors were rumored to make in-season trades with some of their top stars but decided to keep their players intact for the remainder of 2022-23.
Their season ended with a blown lead to the Chicago Bulls in the #9 vs #10 play-in game and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Toronto was seven games back from a .500 record more than halfway through the season. Nick Nurse was somewhat able to rally the troops and got the Raptors back to the #10 seed and a spot in the play-in tournament.
Nurse will immediately become a prominent candidate in the Houston Rockets’ coaching search, sources tell ESPN. He won the 2019 NBA title as Raptors coach, and was voted the 2020 NBA Coach of the Year.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 21, 2023
In his five seasons as head coach, Nurse finished with a 227-163 record. He also won Coach of the Year in 2019-20. There’s a good chance Nurse will be back in the NBA as a head coach next season and the Houston Rockets are a team that have their eye on him.
