AP source: 76ers hire former Raptors coach Nick Nurse
PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid and the 76ers battled in yet another playoff game with the Raptors, this time in 2022, when the All-Star center barked at Toronto coach Nick Nurse — in a quite PG-13 fashion — to stop whining about foul calls.
Embiid’s beef with Nurse didn’t end in the playoffs. After the twotime NBA scoring champion was held — held, in quotes — to 28 points in a 2022 regular-season game, Embiid charged the Raptors “don’t care about winning” as long as a player of his stature was held below his scoring average.
Hey, what could go wrong this season? The 76ers didn’t even play the Raptors in the playoffs.
Yet, when Brooklyn frustrated Embiid in a first-round series, the league MVP complained the Nets “kind of took the Nick Nurse route of begging for free throws and calling out the referees.”
OK, the introductions might be awkward. Or at least good for a laugh. But the 76ers are now counting on Embiid and
Nurse to work together in a productive relationship as the new pair chases the franchise’s first championship since 1983.
With the fate of 10-time All-Star James Harden in the balance, the 76ers remained allin with their championship pursuit on Monday, selecting Nurse as their new coach to try and end more than two decades of playoff failure.
The 76ers hired the 55-year-old Nurse following his exit last month from Toronto Raptors, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move.
Nurse led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship after they beat Embiid and the 76ers in Game 7 of the the Eastern Conference semifinals. The 76ers not only haven’t a title in 40 years, they haven’t advanced past the second round since 2001.
Nurse will replace Doc Rivers, who was fired after he led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind NBA MVP Embiid but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals.
The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road.
The 76ers still have to decide if they will try to bring back Harden — who is expected to decline the $35.6 million option on his contract and become a free agent — but making a move for a championship-winning coach like Nurse shows the franchise is still all in as it goes in for a championship with Embiid still in his prime.
Nurse went 227-163 in his five seasons as coach in Toronto, where his .582 winning percentage ranks as the best of any coach in Raptors history. He also spent five years as an assistant to former Raptors coach Dwane Casey before taking over the top job.
Nurse seemingly made his first play for the 76ers’ job in March when the Raptors were in town for a regular-season visit. Nurse said his relationship with president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster was at a crossroads and time would be needed to decide on his future.