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Raptors part ways with head coach Nick Nurse

"As we reflect on Nick’s many successes, we thank him and his family, and wish them the best in future."

The Toronto Raptors have let go of head coach Nick Nurse, the team announced on Friday.

“The decision to make a change like this is never arrived at easily or taken lightly, especially when it comes to a person who has been an integral part of this franchise’s most historic accomplishments, and who has been a steady leader through some of our team’s most challenging times," Raptors president Masai Ujiri said in statement. "As we reflect on Nick’s many successes, we thank him and his family, and wish them the best in future.”

Nurse, 55, took on the role ahead of the 2018-19 season, guiding the Raptors to their first-ever NBA championship in only his first season as head coach. In five seasons at the helm, the Carroll, Iowa native held the best winning percentage in franchise history (.582) with a 227-163 record. He was named NBA Coach of the Year after leading Toronto to a 53-19 record in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.

Nick Nurse is out as head coach of the Raptors after five seasons. (Canadian Press)
Nick Nurse is out as head coach of the Raptors after five seasons. (Canadian Press)

Nurse led the Raptors to three playoff appearances, two Atlantic Division titles and one Eastern Conference title to go along with the 2019 NBA Championship.

“This is an opportunity for us to reset, to refocus, to put into place the personnel and the players who will help us reach our goal of winning our next championship," Ujiri added.

Nurse joined the Raptors as an assistant coach in 2013, and served under Dwayne Casey for five years before earning a promotion to head coach in June 2018.