76ers Hire Nick Nurse for Head Coach Position

Nick Nurse and Daryl Morey Reunite

on this Memorial Day, we honor those who fought for our country and made the ultimate sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/e1el37BIIA

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 29, 2023

The 76ers overall had a solid season, just underwhelmed in the playoffs. After acquiring the number three seed in the Eastern Conference behind a record of 54-28, Superstar center- Joel Embiid also won his first career MVP this season but the regular season success wasn’t enough to keep Doc Rivers in Philly. The Sixers cut ties with Rivers shortly after losing to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, 4-3 which was Rivers’ third straight loss in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

“Doc (Rivers) is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer, and someone I respect immensely. We’re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise. After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship.” 76ers GM- Daryl Morey said of the release of Rivers. Speaking of Morey, Nurse, and the GM have a prior history together as Nurse was previously the coach of the Houston Rockets G League team, the Rio Grand Valley Vipers when Morey was the Rockets GM.

Nurse won an NBA championship with the Raptors in 2019 and a Coach of the Year award in 2020. During his time with the Raptors, Nurse led the franchise to a 227-163 record in five seasons and had a winning percentage of .582 which ranks as the best of any coach in Raptors history. The Raptors finished 41-41 this season and then lost to the Chicago Bulls at home in the play-in round of the postseason. It’s worth noting that in 2019 Nurse led the Raptors to defeat the 76ers, 4-3 in the Eastern Conference semi-finals on their way to winning the title that year.

Following the 2019 season, Nurse and the Raptors met the Sixers again three years later, this time in the first round and the Sixers won 4-2. It’s worth noting that during that series, Nurse and Embiid shared some moments where they disagreed throughout the series. The defensive-minded- Nurse will now take over a team featuring the reigning NBA MVP- Joel Embiid along with James Harden (possibly), Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris. Harden has a player option next season for $35.6 million.

Do you think the Sixers and Nick Nurse can achieve success together and possibly bring a championship back to the City of Brotherly Love for the first time in over 40 years? Let us know in the comments below.

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