Toronto Raptors: 3 reasons Nick Nurse should be NBA Coach of the Year
By Paul Taylor
3) The impressive resume just keeps on growing
When Nurse first took over as head coach in June 2018, there was some concern about how he would do. The pressure was only increased by the success his predecessor Dwane Casey had enjoyed during his time with the Raptors.
In the end however, any doubts proved fruitless, as Nurse went on to give the Raptors their most successful season in franchise history. By the end of the 2018-19 campaign, they had won their first ever NBA Championship.
Critics will forever point out the key injuries the Golden State Warriors endured during the finals. However, these same people conveniently forget how similar circumstances helped the Warriors during their run of five consecutive NBA Finals appearances.
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In any event, you can only beat who’s in front of you, and the Warriors were still considered favourites going into the series against the Raptors. In this respect Nurse excelled, with his superior game plans on full display throughout the six games.
In a nice little aside, beating Golden State meant Nurse became the first ever head coach to win both the NBA and NBA G League championships. And he continues to thrive and set new standards to this very day.
While Nurse is only in his second season as an NBA head coach, he still has the best winning percentage in league history. He has also already won three Eastern Conference Coach of the Month awards.
From a Raptors’ perspective he set a new franchise record this season, with a 15-game winning streak. He was also named as 2020 All-Star Game head coach for the East (albeit because Budenholzer was ineligible after earning the distinction last year).
Overall, we congratulate both Budenholzer and Donovan for winning the NBA Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year award. However, as far as we’re concerned, the honour should have gone to Nurse.
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Do you agree that Nurse should have been named Coach of the Year? What is your argument for or against the Toronto Raptors’ head coach winning the award? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.