Nick Nurse Out as Raptors Head Coach

The former 2019-2020 NBA Coach of the Year, Nick Nurse, has been fired by the Toronto Raptors. Nurse has spent all 10 seasons of his NBA career with the Raptors, the first five being an assistant coach.

On June 13th of 2018, Nurse was hired as the head coach of the Raptors. During the 2017-2018 season, they finished 59-23, but were swept in the second round by the Cleveland Cavaliers, prompting the firing of the 2017-2018 NBA Coach of the Year, Dwayne Casey. This move was surprising for many and we all knew Nick Nurse would have some big shoes to fill.

Luckily, Nurse filled those shoes perfectly and led the Raptors to an NBA Championship the next season.

During the off-season, The Raptors lost their star player Kawhi Leonard, but it didn’t seem to affect them…they earned the two-seed, once again, but were knocked out in the second round by the Boston Celtics.

Since then, the Raptors have struggled, losing another star player, Kyle Lowry, in 2021 after finishing 12th and missing the playoffs.

The Raptors found themselves back in the top five last season behind the efforts of Pascal Siakam, but lost in the second round. This year, a loss in the play-in was the icing on the cake as the Raptors will begin the search for a new head coach.

Ime Udoka will be a strong candidate for the Raptors coaching position while Nick Nurse looks to be the front-runner for the Rockets coaching vacancy.