Nick Nurse, Sixers Add Dallas Mavericks Assistant

Bryan Gates was initially set to join the Dallas Mavericks. He'll re-route to the 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers are still working on building their coaching staff for the 2023-2024 NBA season. Since hiring former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse to take over the operation, there have been some fundamental changes happening to the staff. 

On Wednesday night, the Sixers added a new coach to the mix. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Sixers are hiring Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Bryan Gates. The move comes as a bit of a surprise, considering Gates was expected to join the Mavs for the first time this upcoming season.

Roughly two weeks ago, Dallas head coach Jason Kidd was moving forward with bringing Gates on to join his staff. However, Wojnarowski reports that the Mavericks allowed for Gates to explore the other opportunity as he’ll “take a significant step up in role” under Nick Nurse.

Gates started his coaching career in 1997 as an assistant in the NBA G League for the Idaho Stampede. After stints with organizations in Oklahoma, Florence, Beirut, Austin, and Idaho for a second run, Gates finally entered the NBA as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings in 2009.

Gates’s run with the Kings lasted just one season. After, he went to New Orleans for a five-year run before joining the Minnesota Timberwolves for a season. In 2016, Gates returned to the Kings’ organization for a few seasons before heading back to the Timberwolves in 2019. His most recent run in the NBA was under Monty Williams on the Phoenix Suns’ staff.

It doesn’t come as a surprise Gates would draw interest from Nurse. As a product of the G League, Gates found a ton of success at the developmental level, earning Coach of the Year honors on two occasions, and winning the developmental league championship in 2008. In addition to coaching around the NBA, Gates was an assistant coach for the Canadian men’s national basketball team.

Since the departure of Doc Rivers, the Sixers lost a few key assistants, including Sam Cassell and Dan Burke. When Philadelphia hired Nurse to take over, changes were inevitable across the board. 

The Sixers have hired several coaches, including Bobby Jackson, Doug West, Rico Hines, and Fabulous Flournoy, since Nurse has taken over. Gates becomes the team’s latest addition.