Sixers officially announce hiring of Nick Nurse as head coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Nick Nurse is now fully locked in as the Sixers' new head coach.
In a press release early Thursday afternoon, the team officially announced the hiring of Nurse as Doc Rivers' replacement, which was first reported Monday.
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“I’m honored to be named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, a storied franchise in a tradition-rich city. Thank you to Josh Harris, David Blitzer and the ownership group for this incredible opportunity,” Nurse said in the Sixers' release. “It’s been a fun challenge coaching against this group over the last five years. Now, I look forward to coaching the Sixers and doing my part to deliver for this tremendous fanbase.”
Over his five seasons coaching the Raptors, Nurse went 227-163 overall in the regular season (58.2 winning percentage). He won the 2019 NBA championship and the 2020 Coach of the Year award.
One of Nurse's many stops before Toronto was the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He coached the Rockets' D League affiliate for two years while Daryl Morey served as Houston's general manager and earned a title in the 2012-13 season.
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"It was really important in my coaching development," Nurse told reporters of that stint in 2019, per The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen. "I always say this about my two years in the D League, G League team: I never had an uncomfortable moment with them. That's a big statement when you're coaching a basketball team. If ever there was a few losses in a row, they were always like, 'Stick with the process. You know what you're doing. You're really good.' They were always really positive and enjoyable to work for. Really had a great two years working here.
"It was good because they really backed up what they said. They used to tell us with ... the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, 'Certainly we want you to develop our guys, especially our Rockets guys to be able to hit the court for the Rockets. Secondly we want you to use it as a laboratory. Thirdly, we want you to win some games for the community down there.' When you have some stumbling moments, they knew we were testing things. It really helped me be more open-minded, less rigid. ... Sometimes you can try some things other people haven't tried."
Now the Sixers' president of basketball operations, Morey is clearly quite pleased at the prospect of working with Nurse again.
"We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Nick Nurse as the new head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers,” Morey said in Thursday's release. “His championship pedigree and diversity of experience mixed with his uniquely creative approach made him our top priority. We are confident that his leadership and expertise will help us unlock the full potential of our talented roster and bring an exciting new era of championship basketball to Philadelphia."
