With Kawhi Leonard on the roster, the Toronto Raptors made an unlikely run last year as they went all the way to the NBA Finals and won. It was a massive moment in Canadian basketball history and was also a personal triumph for first-year head coach Nick Nurse. Some detractors said Nurse wasn't crucial to the Raptors' success as Kawhi did most of the work. This season, however, Nurse proved the doubters wrong as the Raptors improved their record without Leonard on the roster. In fact, Nurse's coaching was so good that he was nominated for coach of the year.
Today, it was announced that Nurse had officially won the award and as many NBA fans will tell you, it was well-deserved. Nurse was interviewed by the Inside The NBA crew immediately after winning the award and was surprised by Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet who presented Nurse with the trophy. As you can see, he was pretty emotional about it all.
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Nurse and the Raptors are currently in the midst of a first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets and as of right now, they are up 3-0. If they can get a win on Sunday, they will have completed the sweep and will likely face the Boston Celtics in the second round.
If the Raptors can snag another title, Nurse will certainly have cemented himself as one of the best coaches in the NBA.
