TORONTO – The NBA has reported that Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been named the Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 season.
In a news release gave on Saturday, Raptors President Masai Ujiri saluted Nurse while underscoring his “imaginative and dynamic” way to deal with the game in charge of the guarding NBA champions.
“At the point when you see Nick uninvolved, that is who he is as an individual. Loose, however, so persevering,” Ujiri said. “That is what nick’s identity is, that is the reason we put stock in him. His excursion to this huge respect has been a long one – we are so glad to see him perceived thusly.”
Under his leadership, the Raptors finished off the regular season with a 53-19 record while likewise establishing an establishment precedent .736 winning percentage.
The team would also add a franchise-record of 15 straight victories this season, from January 15 to February 10, the longest winning streak in Canadian sports history.
As well, following the end of the season restart in Orlando with a 7-1 record, the Raptors would extend their streak of consecutive calendar months with a winning record to 24, the longest in franchise history and the longest current streak in the NBA.
Originally from Carroll, Iowa, Nurse was named Toronto’s head coach on June 14, 2018, after five years as an assistant coach with the team. Less than a year later, he would become the ninth rookie head coach in league history to win an NBA Championship title.
The nurse is the third coach in Raptors history to win the prestigious award and joins the ranks of Dwane Casey (2017-18) and Sam Mitchell (2006-07).
Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, the Nurse was asked if he ever thought that he would receive such an honour, to which he admitted that he doesn’t focus “much” on the Coach of the Year award.
“I must be honest with you, I certainly just focus on trying to win the championship each and every year,” he said.
The nurse was a runaway winner for the award and received 90 first-place votes from a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. He finished with 470 points.
Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer was second after leading the Bucks to the best record in the suspended season, earning 147 points. Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan (134) was third.
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry presented Nurse with the Red Auerbach Trophy alongside Fred VanVleet on Saturday afternoon.
Toronto Mayor John Tory also offered his congratulations in a tweet calling Nurse a “true champion” on and off the basketball court.
Photo credit: Kevin C. Cox / Associated Press
News source: CTV News
