76ers hire former Raptors coach Nick Nurse, AP source says
PHILADELPHIA -
The Philadelphia 76ers went all-in with their NBA championship pursuit on Monday, selecting veteran Nick Nurse as their new coach to try to win the franchise's first title since 1983.
The 76ers hired the 55-year-old Nurse following his exit last month from Toronto Raptors, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move.
Nurse led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship after they beat Joel Embiid and the 76ers in Game 7 of the the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Nurse will replace Doc Rivers, who was fired after he led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind NBA MVP Embiid but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals.
The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road.
The 76ers still have to decide if they will try to bring back veteran James Harden, but making a move for a championship-winning coach like Nurse shows the franchise is still all in as it goes for its first title in 40 years.
Nurse went 227-163 in his five seasons as coach in Toronto, where his .582 winning percentage ranks as the best of any coach in Raptors history. He also spent five years as an assistant to former Raptors coach Dwane Casey before taking over the top job.
Nurse played at Northern Iowa, then started his coaching career there as an assistant. He wound up becoming a head coach at Grand View University when he was just 23. He coached in Belgium and Britain -- winning a pair of British Basketball League titles as a coach in Birmingham in 1996 and London in 2000 -- then got a couple of titles in what is now called the G League.
The second G League crown with Houston's team got Nurse noticed, with the Raptors calling because they wanted to talk to him about offence. They ended up hiring him as an assistant, and he'd been with Toronto ever since.
The Raptors finished 41-41 this season before losing at home to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in round of the postseason.
Sixers president Daryl Morey continues to build the team around his old Houston Rockets connections. Besides Harden -- and others -- Nurse coached Houston's G League-affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers for two seasons while Morey was in charge. Nurse won the G-League title in 2013 before moving on to a successful NBA career. He also won the 2020 NBA Coach of the Year award.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Half of millennials and Gen Z living paycheque-to-paycheque in Canada while stressing about climate crisis: survey
Struggling under the rising cost of living and an ever mounting fear of the climate crisis, young Canadians don’t see a positive future for themselves right now, according to a recent national survey.
Couple and dog killed by bear at Banff National Park
Two people are dead after a bear attack in Alberta's Banff National Park.
Ontario expands pharmacists' prescription powers to include 6 more common ailments
Ontario residents can now access treatment and medication for six more common ailments at pharmacies across the province.
Taylor Swift at MetLife Stadium to watch Travis Kelce's Chiefs take on the Jets
Taylor Swift couldn't just shake off another chance to watch Travis Kelce on the football field. The 12-time Grammy Award winner arrived at MetLife Stadium about 40 minutes before kickoff Sunday night to watch Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs take on the New York Jets.
Federal prisoner with terminal illness granted parole on compassionate grounds to die outside of jail
A terminally ill federal prisoner, who has been fighting for a compassionate release to die outside of jail, has been granted day parole.
5 dead after single-vehicle crash near Swan River, Man.
Swan River RCMP are investigating a single-vehicle crash that killed five people in western Manitoba Saturday afternoon.
Tim Wakefield, who revived his career and Red Sox trophy case with knuckleball, has died at 57
Tim Wakefield, the knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching staff who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playoffs to help Boston win its curse-busting World Series title the following year, has died. He was 57.
Chair hogs, dining divas and boorish boozers: Is cruising etiquette lost at sea?
When it comes to uncouth, uncultured and downright unacceptable behaviour on ships, experts in travel etiquette and cruising have seen it all. They share plenty of bad behaviours for passengers to avoid (and good ones they should emulate).
1 in 20 Americans used ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, study finds
A recent study has found 1 in 20 people in the U.S. who contracted COVID-19 used non-evidence based treatment, such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, due to beliefs in vaccine-related misinformation.
Politics
-
Pierre Poilievre called out for Truth and Reconciliation Day photos with Inuk elder
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre found himself the subject of online criticism after posting photos with an Inuk elder alongside a caption about meeting with Algonquin elders on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
-
Defence minister insists $1B spending reduction is not a budget cut
The country's top soldier and outside experts say that finding almost $1 billion in savings in the Department of National Defence budget will affect the Armed Forces' capabilities, although the defence minister insisted Friday the budget is not being cut.
-
Ex-justice minister calls Nazi invite result of 'failure of indifference and inaction', supports unsealing Deschenes Commission records
A former federal justice minister says the 'failure of indifference and inaction' over Canada's history with Nazis in the country likely contributed to Parliament's unknowing recognition of a Nazi veteran in the House of Commons last week, and that he wants to see nearly 40-year-old documents on suspected war criminals living in Canada unsealed.
Health
-
1 in 20 Americans used ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, study finds
A recent study has found 1 in 20 people in the U.S. who contracted COVID-19 used non-evidence based treatment, such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, due to beliefs in vaccine-related misinformation.
-
Federal prisoner with terminal illness granted parole on compassionate grounds to die outside of jail
A terminally ill federal prisoner, who has been fighting for a compassionate release to die outside of jail, has been granted day parole.
-
Ontario expands pharmacists' prescription powers to include 6 more common ailments
Ontario residents can now access treatment and medication for six more common ailments at pharmacies across the province.
Sci-Tech
-
Scientists have observed antimatter free-falling due to gravity for the first time
For the first time, an international team of scientists have directly observed that antimatter – the mysterious counterpart to ordinary matter – free-falls under gravity, answering a question which has been the subject of endless speculation among the scientific community.
-
Man arrested in killing of Baltimore tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere was released from prison in 2022
The man arrested Thursday in the killing of a Baltimore tech entrepreneur was released from prison last year after serving a shortened sentence for a 2013 rape and was suspected in another rape days before the slaying last week, police said.
-
Endangered red wolf can make it in the wild, but not without `significant' help, study says
The endangered red wolf can survive in the wild, but only with "significant additional management intervention," according to a long-awaited population viability analysis released Friday.
Entertainment
-
Taylor Swift at MetLife Stadium to watch Travis Kelce's Chiefs take on the Jets
Taylor Swift couldn't just shake off another chance to watch Travis Kelce on the football field. The 12-time Grammy Award winner arrived at MetLife Stadium about 40 minutes before kickoff Sunday night to watch Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs take on the New York Jets.
-
'PAW Patrol' shows bark at box office while 'The Creator' and 'Dumb Money' disappoint
After several quiet weeks in movie theaters, four films entered wide release over the weekend. 'PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie' came out the top dog, with US$23 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
-
Valentino returns to Paris' Les Beaux-Arts with modern twist; Burton bids farewell at McQueen
Valentino took a sentimental journey to Les Beaux-Arts this Sunday, revisiting the prestigious Parisian art school where its founder, Valentino Garavani, was once a student.
