Report: 76ers Hire Nick Nurse as New Head Coach

Former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse will reportedly join the Philadelphia 76ers to be the team's new head coach

All Raptors Staff | May 29, 2023

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

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Nick Nurse is heading to Philadelphia.

The former Toronto Raptors head coach has reportedly reached an agreement to be the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He will replace Doc Rivers who was let go by the 76ers following a disappointing playoff loss to the Boston Celtics.

Nurse becomes the 26th coach in 76ers history, taking over following a 54-28 season in which Joel Embiid earned league MVP honors.

Embiid and Nurse have a long history with one another dating back to Nurse’s first season in Toronto. The Raptors knocked Philadelphia out of the playoffs en route to Toronto’s first NBA championship. Nurse’s defensive scheme pestered Embiid all series before Kawhi Leonard eventually hit the series-clinching shot in Game 7.

More recently, the 76ers have had the upper hand, knocking Toronto out of the playoffs in 2022. Embiid was critical of Nurse for his complaining to the referees during the series. He even went out of his way to criticize Nurse during Philadelphia’s first-round playoff series this year against the Brooklyn Nets.

With Nurse now heading to Philadelphia and Adrian Griffin joining the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto is one of just three remaining head coaching vacancies. Both the Phoenix Suns and Detroit Pistons are year to hire a new coach for next season.

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