Nick Nurse, who led the team to a 2019 championship, is fired by the Raptors.
Like many Toronto Raptors supporters, Masai Ujiri was disappointed with his team’s performance this season. But he could take action because he was the team president.
After a poor season in which Toronto finished ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 41-41 record and lost to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA play-in tournament, head coach Nick Nurse was fired by the Raptors on Friday.
About one hour after the Raptors announced Nurse’s termination, Ujiri spoke to the media. During a 45-minute press conference, Ujiri, who was visibly distraught after sacking the coach who led Toronto to its lone NBA championship, offered no justifications.
“I have a strong feeling that we will triumph in Toronto once more.
After becoming an assistant coach with the Raptors in 2013, Nurse was named the team’s ninth head coach in June 2018, taking Dwane Casey’s place.The next year, he guided the Raptors to their maiden NBA championship, when they triumphed against the Golden State Warriors in the championship game after beating Orlando, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse on rumours of his leaving: “I love it here.”
The 2020 coach of the year, with a 227-163 record in his five seasons as head coach, has the best winning percentage in Raptors history. However, Ujiri saw that Toronto’s winning culture had suddenly soured at the beginning of the 2022–23 campaign, especially after humiliating losses on November 30 and December 2 in New Orleans and Brooklyn.
“Something is present there.”
Since June 2019, Nurse has served as the head coach of the Canadian national team. Two years later, he inked a contract extension that would take him through the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Canada Basketball announced in a statement to CBC Sports that the partnership will endure.
“This summer’s FIBA Basketball World Cup and qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are the top priorities for Canada Basketball and our senior men’s national team coach, Nick Nurse. As we strive to meet our objectives this summer and the following, Nick will remain our head coach.”
