Survey: NBA GMs See Toronto as League's Best Home-Court Advantage

The Toronto Raptors have the league's best home-court advantage, NBA general managers say.

John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

NBA general managers seem to have a ton of respect for Toronto and the Raptors organization.

A recent survey of the league's top decision makers found Toronto to have the best home-court advantage in the league, per NBA.com. Toronto edged out Boston and Denver, receiving 21% of the vote as the best home court.

"There’s a lot of good crowds out there but the atmosphere in our place is second to none," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Tuesday following practice. "I would imagine that the intensity and quantity with the crowd noise is there and that the fans are into the game lends itself to that.

"I always tell everybody if you haven’t seen a game there, it’s a really good place to see game because the atmosphere each and every night is really good."

While Scotiabank Arena is certainly among the most raucous arenas in the league, the federal government's decision to prohibit unvaccinated players from entering the country throughout the 2021-22 season may have contributed to the voting. The Philadelphia 76ers, for example, were unable to travel with Matisse Thybulle during the playoffs due to his partially vaccinated status. Those restrictions, however, have now been lifted.

Nurse Praised by GMs

Nurse received recognition as the second-best coach in terms of in-game adjustments, falling well shy of Erik Spoelstra. Nurse also received 7% of the votes as the league's best offensive coach, behind Steve Kerr and former Raptors assistant coach Chris Finch, who received 62% and 14% of the vote, respectively. On the other side, Nurse is considered the second-best defensive coach, again trailing only Spoelstra. Nurse, however, did not receive any votes as the best coach in the NBA.

Griffin Considered Top Assistant

Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin received the third most votes as the top assistant coach in the league. His name has repeatedly popped up for head coaching vacancies and he will surely become a head coach at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Further Reading

Christian Koloko's defensive impact goes far beyond the box score

Raptors lean in to unusual lineups in preseason victory over Jazz

Raptors discuss the impact of Rico Hines on Toronto's coaching staff