How 76ers Landed on Nick Nurse to Replace Doc Rivers

Nick Nurse sold a vision for the 76ers.

After spending the last three seasons with Doc Rivers running the Philadelphia 76ers, the team’s President of Basketball Operations has selected a new head coach.

On Monday, a source confirmed that the Sixers are planning to hire Nick Nurse. Although the signing hasn’t been made official, an agreement has been reached and is expected to be finalized soon.

Nurse joins the Sixers after a five-year run as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors. 

When the Sixers entered the market searching for a new head coach, Daryl Morey noted several factors the team was seeking. 

The President of Basketball Ops mentioned accountability, leadership, tactics, building relationships with standout players, and championship experience as some of the key factors Philadelphia desired in their search.

When the Sixers launched their search, six candidates were linked to the team. As Nurse was among the six prospects linked to the Sixers, it was clear the 2019 NBA Champion and 2020 Coach of the Year checked a lot of boxes for the 76ers.

So, how did the Sixers land on Nurse after considering several other prospects, while the former Raptors head coach had a few teams to choose from as well?

From Nurse’s perspective, two notable factors seemed to have played a part in his desire to coach the Sixers. One is joining forces with the MVP-winning center Joel Embiid. The other is having a reunion with Daryl Morey.

Prior to his run with the Raptors as an assistant and a head coach, Nurse was a member of the Houston Rockets organization, coaching the team’s developmental roster in Rio Grande Valley. At the time, Daryl Morey was leading the Rockets’ front office. 

After making a name for himself in the NBA G League, Nurse was picked up by Toronto as an assistant before making his way to becoming the head coach. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, those two scenarios “played a significant part” in committing to the 76ers.

Aside from checking many boxes ahead of the interview process, the Sixers were interested in Nurse after the head coach met with Philadelphia’s star big man Joel Embiid during the search. According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the meeting between two foes “went well,” despite their verbal battles in the past.

Lastly, the Sixers reportedly felt that Nurse simply separated himself from the rest of the pack over the last couple of weeks. Per Wojnarowski’s report, Nurse’s main selling point was an ideal vision for how to use Embiid in a new system for Philadelphia beyond the Rivers era.

That’s not to say that Embiid didn’t benefit from what Rivers had in place, as the former head coach helped Embiid become a three-time MVP finalist, with a nod as the award winner this past season, but perhaps Nurse could help the big man take his game a step further. 

After all, Nurse has been one of the few NBA coaches to draw up game plans to slow Embiid down. Now, the Sixers hope he has a recipe to help the six-time All-Star succeed and lead the Sixers to where they want to go.