NBA coach Nick Nurse fired by Toronto Raptors

Nick Nurse, the head coach who led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship in 2019, will not be returning next season, TSN reported. The Raptors announced the news and thanked Nurse for his contributions to the team, which included two Atlantic Division titles and three playoff appearances during his five-year tenure. 

The decision was not taken lightly, as Nurse was a key figure in the team's historic accomplishments and a steady leader through difficult times.

The team plans to reset and refocus, with the goal of winning another championship. To that end, former Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is expected to be a top candidate for the vacant head coaching position in Toronto, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Nurse, a native of Carroll, IA, began his coaching career in the NCAA before moving on to the British Basketball League and the D-League, where he won a championship with the Iowa Energy and was named D-League Coach of the Year in 2011. He joined the Raptors in 2013 as an assistant coach under Dwane Casey and was promoted to head coach in 2018 after Casey was fired.

Under Nurse's leadership, the Raptors thrived with Kawhi Leonard, who had only played nine games the previous season due to injury. The team implemented a "load management" plan for Leonard, resting him regularly and frequently sitting him in back-to-back games. They also acquired big man Marc Gasol in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.

In the 2019 playoffs, the Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Milwaukee Bucks to reach their first NBA Finals, where they defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games to win the championship. 

The following season, the team retained their division title and earned the franchise's first-ever postseason series sweep, but ultimately fell to the Boston Celtics in seven games in the second round of the playoffs.

The Raptors had a difficult 2020-21 season, forced to relocate to Tampa due to pandemic-related border regulations. They won just 27 games and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Despite the setbacks, the team bounced back in the 2021-22 season, earning a 48-win season and returning to the playoffs, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Rumours of Nurse's departure began to circulate in late March, with reports suggesting he would be joining the Houston Rockets, the NBA parent club of Rio Grande. When asked about his future, Nurse said he would take a few weeks to evaluate everything and see where he was at. At his season-ending availability, he expressed his love for the organisation and the city, but made no guarantees about his future.

Overall, Nurse's time with the Raptors was marked by success and a strong commitment to the team. The Raptors will now look to the future, hoping to build on their past achievements and continue their winning ways.