What 76ers Get With Nick Nurse in Words of Raptors’ Fred VanVleet

The Philadelphia 76ers considered six different coaching prospects after they turned the page to a new chapter, putting an end to the three-year run with Doc Rivers as head coach.

Philadelphia was expected to target Mike Budenholzer, Mike D’Antoni, Sam Cassell, and Monty Williams. Over the few-week process, the Sixers were known to have interviewed Frank Vogel and Nick Nurse.

A couple of the names mentioned above were prospects for other organizations on the hunt for a new head coach. The most popular pick was former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse.

After winning the NBA Finals in 2019 as a rookie head coach and following up with a Coach of the Year nod the following season, Nurse acknowledged that his ten-year run as a former assistant and head coach in Toronto was reaching its final stages as the 2022-2023 NBA season came to a close.

When the Raptors failed to clinch a spot in the 2023 playoffs, Toronto’s front office decided to move on from Nurse, who was expected to be heavily pursued by the Houston Rockets.

After considering Nurse, the Rockets landed on former Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka. While his market went quiet for quite some time, Nurse was reportedly a finalist for the Bucks and Phoenix Suns jobs. He also remained prominent in Philadelphia’s search.

Last week, it was reported the Bucks decided to hire Nurse’s former assistant Adrian Griffin. At the time of the announcement, it was also revealed that Nurse withdrew himself from consideration in Milwaukee. At that point, it became clear that the former Raptors head coach might already have something lined up with another team.

Two days later, Nurse entered negotiations with the 76ers as he’s set to become their next head coach, replacing Doc Rivers.

When news broke about Nurse’s plans, Toronto’s standout guard Fred VanVleet took to Twitter to react with a couple of emojis. The following day, the one-time All-Star explained what the Sixers are getting in a coach like Nurse, who VanVleet played for during his entire seven-year tenure in Toronto.

“Just a different voice that they haven’t heard before,” VanVleet said on Inside the Association. “Something outside the box. He’s gonna bring new ideas, creative ideas. It’ll be a great breath of fresh air for them. Any time you change your head coach, that’s pretty much what you’re looking for is a new identity. A new voice for guys to kind of rally behind.”

While running the Raptors, Nurse helped Toronto achieve a 227-163 record across five seasons. They clinched a spot in the playoffs three times, winning 61 percent of their postseason matchups and even taking home the title in 2019.

“I think he’ll have some success,” VanVleet finished. “Hopefully, not too much if I’m not there, and I’m staying in Toronto — we want him to fail, but other than that — I’m happy that he landed on his feet. Our situation was our situation this year, and coming down the stretch, they decided to go different ways, but I’m just happy that he landed on his feet. Good to see him back with another job.”