The Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) are expected to hire Nick Nurse, who led the Toronto Raptors to a championship four years ago, as their new head coach.
“Philadelphia has identified Nick Nurse as the coach to lead the franchise to its first championship in more than 40 years and is in the process of hiring him,” ESPN reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
Nurse led Toronto to a championship in the 2018-2019 season.
The Raptors swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals and then defeated the Golden State Warriors in four games to two in the championship game to win the franchise’s first title.
However, after failing to make the playoffs (PO) in the 2022-2023 season, the team parted ways with Nurse.
If Nurse takes the helm in Philadelphia, he will replace Doc Rivers, who led the organization for three seasons starting in 2020.
Rivers was fired on Nov. 17.
Despite a 154-82 regular-season record and a 65.3 percent winning percentage in three years, Rivers’ struggles in the postseason proved to be his undoing.
Philadelphia was swept in two games in the PO by the Atlanta Hawks in 2021 and was swept in two games by the Miami Heat last year.스포츠토토
This year, Joel Embiid was named the regular season MVP, but they also lost in the second round to the Boston Celtics in seven games.
It was a disappointing result for Philadelphia, which was the favorite to win the title this season with Embiid, James Harden, and Tyreese Maxey.
The last time Philadelphia won an NBA championship was in 1983, when the team featured legendary forwards and centers Julius Erving and Mozgis Malone.