Nick Nurse Articles - Page 11

Orlando Magic big man Khem Birch is happy to play for Canada in the FIBA World Cup. After all, it’s not everyday that he gets to work under a champion coach like Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors. In an interview with Montreal Gazette’s Mike Ganter, Birch said he is lucky that some players withdrew […]

Barely more than a year removed from being promoted to head coach of the Toronto Raptors, Nick Nurse is already taking the lead in helping develop Canada’s national program. The championship-winning coach is currently roaming the sidelines for Team Canada at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, his first tournament as coach of our neighbors to […]

For Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, Jonas Valanciunas is ‘one of the best bigs’ in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Valanciunas, who’s representing Lithuania in the quadrennial affair, worked with Nurse for several years with the Toronto Raptors before he was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in the middle of the 2018-19 season. By […]

As Canada prepares for their must-win game versus Lithuania on Monday, head coach Nick Nurse said that he plans to give Jonas Valanciunas and his team the good old-fashioned beating. “Obviously love Jonas, but I’m going to try to kick his ass tomorrow,” Nurse said, per Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun. When Valanciunas heard […]

Canada is in a must-win situation after their blowout loss to Australia in the FIBA World Cup opener on Sunday, according to head coach Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors. Nick Nurse on Canada L in FIBA WC opener vs Australia: „To get out of this group, you have to play an extraordinary basketball. And we […]

Canada tapped Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse to lead the men’s national basketball team in this year’s FIBA World Cup. So far, the only NBA champion coach in Canada is enjoying the overall experience — traveling to different places, preparing game plans, and competing. “Are you kidding me?,” Nurse replied when asked about his […]

Following a tremendous third year in the league in which he earned the honor of Most Improved Player, much is expected from Toronto Raptors rising star Pascal Siakam in the coming campaign. Reigning Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard is now out of the picture, which leaves a clear path for Siakam to take over as Toronto’s […]

Team Canada head coach Nick Nurse called previous reports saying point guard Cory Joseph would miss the upcoming FIBA World Cup “incorrect” — stating he’d spoken to the guard on Wednesday and he has his flight booked to China, according to John Casey of 7News Adelaide. Nurse and the rest of Team Canada are in […]

The game of basketball is expanding rapidly in Canada. Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse believes that the recent boom in popularity, as triggered by the Raptors’ recent championship victory this past season, will eventually lead to the growth of local talent, per Ted Wyman of Canada.com. “The most important thing is the talent growth,” […]

New Sacramento Kings guard Cory Joseph heaped praise on his former coach Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors. Joseph — who will be playing under Nurse again, albeit on the Canadian men’s national basketball team — briefly recalled his stint with the Raptors from 2015 to 2017. During that time, Nurse was still an assistant […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse only needed one season atop the highest level to capture a NBA title. However, the soon-to-be second-year NBA head coach made plenty of memories along the way last season — most of which came in the form of his hilarious reactions along the sideline. Well aware of his tremendous […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is coming off a dream season in which he helped bring the Larry O’Brien trophy to Canada for the first time. Now, the coach is looking to bring Canada some more hardware. Nurse claimed that he will be taking the FIBA tournament just as seriously as the playoff games […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says he is excited to lead Team Canada at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China. As part of an interview with Paul Jones of Sportsnet, Nurse noted some of the better traits his team has shown after just one practice. He says the work ethic and IQ are […]

Still vibing with championship glory, Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse found out his talisman player, Kawhi Leonard, would leave his team for the LA Clippers in the most random of places. The guitar-wailing aficionado was taking part on a packed house at the Tropicana in Las Vegas alongside assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren, rocking out […]

Jim Boylen’s old-school tactics wore thin on the Chicago Bulls in the first week of his tenure as head coach after taking over for the fired Fred Hoiberg. Players were so frustrated with the frequency and intensity of his practices, they briefly considered skipping one en masse before agreeing to discuss their issues with Boylen […]

Toronto Raptors center Marc Gasol had encouraging words for Nick Nurse and the Canadian team and their bright future on Friday. The Spanish center spoke on his coach’s talent and how he thought it would lead to success in the FIBA tournament. “It’s going to be a very exciting tournament for them as they are […]

The Toronto Raptors will have huge adjustments to make in the 2019-20 season following the departure of Kawhi Leonard, but head coach Nick Nurse already has a plan in mind. Nurse said that the Raptors will be relying on ball movement, which was a key factor during their title run last season. The second-year head […]

Kawhi Leonard has decided to take his talents to the Western Conference, joining the LA Clippers on a max deal after leading the Raptors to their first championship in franchise history. Leonard’s decision came as a surprise to some, but it sounds like Raptors head coach Nick Nurse was prepared to take the news. According […]

Kawhi Leonard did the unprecedented, leaving the Toronto Raptors just 22 days after he led them to their first ever NBA championship. The reigning Finals MVP chose to go home, and play in his hometown for the Los Angeles Clippers. And Raptors head coach Nick Nurse completely understands why Leonard did what he did. “I […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has officially been chosen to lead Team Canada at this year’s FIBA World Cup, according to a report from Chicco Nacion of theScore. “I’m looking forward to working with this talented group of young players, and to seeing what we can do on the competitive global basketball stage,” Nurse […]

The Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship this season in a stunning upset of the Golden State Warriors. Although the parade was last week, the party hasn’t stopped, at least not for head coach Nick Nurse. According to Steven Loung of SportsNet, Nick Nurse was at an Arkells concert in Toronto, and joined the Canadian […]

Kawhi Leonard is done listening to Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse’s stories about his stint in the D-League. After the Raptors went up 3-2 on the Bucks, Nick Nurse told a story about winning Game 1 of the D-League Finals but not finishing the series at home. Kawhi interrupted and joked, “In the D-League? […]

The NBA has a longstanding tradition in which championship-winning teams pay a visit to the sitting president at the White House shortly after the NBA Finals. This season’s winners are the Toronto Raptors, but it’s not clear if head coach Nick Nurse and his players have received an invite to the U.S. capital. In a […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says superstar small forward Kawhi Leonard is the funniest guy on the team when it comes to watching film. Leonard said he was a fun guy and media day and Nurse says the two-time Finals MVP is a funny person behind the scenes when he’s not around the media. […]

Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7, series-clinching buzzer-beater against the Philadelphia 76ers is one of the greatest moments in this years playoffs. Indeed, it is a moment that will forever live in the Raptors’ lore. While it established Kawhi Leonard as a game-changer, the play drawn by Nick Nurse also elevated the reputation of the first-year coach. […]

Just like that, the Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. The Raps defeated the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Final — effectively crowning Kawhi Leonard as the dynasty killer — and delivered the first-ever NBA championship to Canada. Certainly, the NBA Finals were tainted by devastating injuries in back-to-back games to Kevin Durant (torn […]

Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby is unlikely to play in the 2019 NBA Summer League. According to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, Nick Nurse confirmed that there is a slim chance for Anunoby’s stint in the summer league. Nurse, who became the most recent rookie coach to win a championship, feels that Anunoby is “past […]

After leading the Toronto Raptors to its first-ever NBA championship, head coach Nick Nurse will probably have a short break before he starts calling the shots from the sidelines again. Nurse has been tapped to coach the Canadian national basketball team in the FIBA World Cup this August, and the expectations are high once again. […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is now part of an elite group of coaches who have won the NBA title in their first year in the league. What makes the 51-year-old’s tale even more amazing is the type of humble beginnings Nurse had as he embarked on his career as a basketball coach: In […]

For all of the drama in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, it may have gone largely unnoticed that Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam did not play in the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter. Nick Nurse made that call. Pascal Siakam had been mostly inefficient when he was on the floor, shooting 6 […]

Nick Nurse’s decision to call a timeout with his Toronto Raptors leading by six points late in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday has been a hot topic discussion over the last couple of days. Of course, the Golden State Warriors went on a 9-0 run after the timeout, retaking a three-point lead […]

Nick Nurse is clearly unfazed by widespread criticism of his decision to call back-to-back timeouts late in the fourth quarter of his team’s 106-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Still, that hardly means the Toronto Raptors’ coach doesn’t believe in the concept of momentum. “Momentum is definitely […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse called a questionable timeout in Game 5 of the NBA Finals with his team up six points and only three minutes left in the game. The Raptors seemed to be in a groove offensively, specifically Kawhi Leonard, who had scored the teams last eight points. Leonard seemed unstoppable, and […]

Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant suffered a devastating injury in his return to action in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, and Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said he heard somebody on the bench say Durant “tore something” on the play: "Somebody on the bench said he tore something." –Nick Nurse — Henry […]

The Toronto Raptors are carving up the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Eastern Conference champions have a 115.1 offensive rating through the first four games of this series, a hair better than Golden State’s league-leading mark from the regular season. The Warriors simply haven’t had an answer for Kawhi Leonard individually, averaging […]

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse credited his experience in the minor leagues for preparing him against the shuffling lineups that are part-and-parcel of the long chess match that is the NBA Playoffs. Nick Nurse: "When you get used to coming up in the minor leagues, sometimes you don't know who's playing until an hour […]

The Toronto Raptors earned perhaps their most important victory in franchise history on Wednesday night. Even so, beating the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals was bigger than basketball for first-year coach Nick Nurse. As the final buzzer sounded at Oracle Arena, officially putting the Raptors up 2-1 on the two-time […]

Marc Gasol’s clash with former Memphis Grizzlies coach David Fizdale is widely known around the NBA, something the Toronto Raptors were keenly aware of before deciding to trade for him prior to the deadline. Gasol has always been expressive, especially when he demands transparency and explanations when the team is not playing the way that […]

Toronto Raptors big Marc Gasol has had to morph his game in the last few years to grow outside the mold of the traditional NBA center, recently venturing into shooting 3-pointers while connecting at a respectable rate. However, his trade to the Raptors required him to put that newfound ability to use more often than […]