Raptors’ Fred VanVleet Reacts to Nick Nurse Joining 76ers

As the 2022-2023 NBA regular season winded down, the future of Nick Nurse with the Toronto Raptors came into question.

Although Nurse was contractually on board with the Raptors for next season, he hinted at a potential change during the final weeks of the regular season.

Toronto had an opportunity to crack a spot in the playoffs via the 2023 Play-In Tournament. After losing to the Chicago Bulls in the first game, Nurse’s Raptors were officially eliminated from playoff contention. A couple of weeks later, he was cut loose after five seasons.

Although Nurse left the Raptors by being fired after missing the playoffs, he left behind an impressive run in Toronto. After getting promoted to head coach in 2018, Nurse helped coach the Raptors to the 2019 NBA Finals. That season, the Raptors won their first title in franchise history.

Since the championship run in 2019, Nurse’s Raptors made the playoffs in two of four seasons during the post-Kawhi Leonard run. Nurse didn’t go out on a high note, but he’s respected by his former players, and standout Toronto guard Fred VanVleet seems happy for his former head coach.

🙏🏽💪🏽 https://t.co/ME4D5zPdVb
— Fred VanVleet (@FredVanVleet) May 29, 2023

On Monday, Nurse agreed to become the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Following a three-year run with Doc Rivers, the Sixers felt a coaching change was needed as they’ve struggled to get past the second round in each of Rivers’ three seasons in charge.

With Nurse set to take over, the Sixers hope that his championship experience could help a talented Sixers team maximize their potential moving forward.

Meanwhile, VanVleet is set to play on the fourth and final season of his current contract that he signed with the Raptors a few seasons back. During the 2023-2024 season, VanVleet will go to work with another head coach while facing Nick Nurse for the first time in his professional career next season.