Since being fired by the Toronto Raptors back on April 21, Nick Nurse has been bandied about as a top candidate for a majority of the other head coach openings around the NBA.
It stands to reason that the championship winning head coach will land a gig if he chooses to return to an NBA bench. He had previously been mentioned as a top candidate for three openings around the Association.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Nurse is now one of three finalists for the vacant Milwaukee Bucks opening. He joins Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as a finalist. Woj also notes that Nurse “looms prominently” in the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers searches.
Following a first-round exit at the hands of the Miami Heat, Milwaukee opted to fire Mike Budenholzer. It came less than two calendar years after he led them to the NBA title. Nurse’s ousting also came after he led the Toronto Raptors to the NBA title back in June of 2019.
Related: Nick Nurse and the top NBA head coach candidates of 2023
Interest in Nurse shouldn’t be too surprising. Despite a down .500 campaign in Toronto this past season, he’s proven to be among the most successful head coaches of the past half-decade.
Nick Nurse coaching record: 227-163. .582 winning %, 1 NBA title
During Nurse’s five-year run in Canada, he led the Raptors to three playoff appearances. In addition to winning the title in 2019, Toronto put up 53 wins the following season. After a down 2020-21 season, he led the Raptors to a surprising 48-34 mark in 2021-22 before seeing them miss out on the playoffs this past season.
Nurse, 55, is known as one of the best defensive minds in the NBA. He’s obviously a good fit for a Milwaukee Bucks team that relies a whole lot on success on that end of the court. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Impending free agent Brook Lopez was a finalist for that award in 2022-23. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday has earned five All-NBA Defensive Team honors.
In no way does this mean that Nick Nurse will be hired by the Milwaukee Bucks. Both Atkinson and Griffin are also top-end candidates.
Meanwhile, Nurse is being coveted by two other title contenders in that of the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers. He’ll likely have a pick between multiple teams before making a decision.