Ex-Raptors head coach Nick Nurse receives honorary degree from York University

Former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse speaks at York University's convocation ceremony on Friday, June 20, 2025. (Supplied)

Former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse says his life changed a lot after winning the NBA championship in 2019.

Nurse reflected on his coaching career during a convocation ceremony on Friday at York University, which awarded him an honorary doctor of laws. He was among the six “influential changemakers” who received an honorary degree.

According to the university, the recipients are recognized for their contributions to community building, their advocacy for social justice and their philanthropy.

“After we won the championship, my life changed a lot,” Nurse said during his speech.

He shared that when he was tapped to be the head coach of the Raptors in 2018, he was ready for the job “because of all the thousands of games I coached.”

Before landing the role, Nurse was an assistant coach for the team. He began coaching at 23, leading the Grand View College in Des Moines. Nurse also spent 11 seasons in Europe coaching in the British Basketball League and then took a job in the NBA G-League.

“I tried everything, and I kept the stuff that worked, I crumpled up the stuff that didn’t, I polished the stuff that worked. And the point is, someday, that opportunity is going to come to you and something you’re really dreaming about or passionate about, but you want to be ready for it,” said Nurse, who is currently the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.

“You want to be ready for it because that’s what builds the confidence to be able to go out there and execute it.”

Nurse also imparted some lessons he learned on and off the court. He recounted what he saw in the locker room during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

“All the players are sitting around. There’s a board up there that says, ‘Steph Curry, who’s going to guard him? Don’t let him do this. Watch out for this. Draymond Green, who’s going to do this?’ All this serious basketball, X’s and O’s. And somebody snuck up there when I wasn’t looking—I don’t know who—and wrote, ‘Let it rip,’ on the corner of the board," Nurse recalled.

“The team looked up there and said, ‘Come on, man, Game six. Let’s let it rip.’”

The Raptors beat the Warriors 114-112 in that game to hoist their first Larry O’Brien championship trophy.

“So, when you leave here today, let it rip,” Nurse said. His foundation has funded music programs at the university for the past four years.