Nick Nurse lands new head coach job

Mar 8, 2020; Sacramento, California, USA; Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse gives instructions during the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Nurse has landed a new head coach job.

Nurse has agreed to a deal to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news on Sunday.

There was talk that Nurse might have his pick of three different head coaching vacancies. The Sixers job was one of them, as was the Milwaukee Bucks. Many were surprised when the Bucks hired former Nurse assistant Adrian Griffin as their new head coach on Saturday. It now seems safe to assume that Nurse preferred the Philly job, which is likely why Milwaukee pivoted to Griffin.

Nurse was also viewed as a potential candidate for the Phoenix Suns.

Nurse, 55, coached the Toronto Raptors for five seasons and led the team to a championship in 2019. He has a record of 227-163 in the regular season and 25-16 in the playoffs. It is hardly a surprise that he quickly landed a new job and may have gotten to choose between two or more teams.

The 76ers fired Doc Rivers after he failed to lead the team past the conference semifinals in each of his three seasons in Philly.