Raptors’ Nick Nurse wins NBA mentor of the calendar year honours in landslide

Milwaukee mentor Mike Budenholzer was next soon after leading the Bucks to the ideal report in the suspended period, earning 147 points. Oklahoma City’s Billy Donovan (134) was 3rd.

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry presented Nurse with the Red Auerbach Trophy when the coach was interviewed on TNT’s pre-activity exhibit prior to the Bucks confronted the Orlando Magic at the NBA’s campus at Walt Disney Entire world close to Orlando, Fla.

Look at | Raptors present Nick Nurse with coach of the yr award:

Nurse is in his second period as Raptors head coach. The club went 53-19 in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 standard year and posted a franchise-most effective .736 profitable share.

Toronto received its very first NBA title last season in Nurse’s 1st yr as an NBA head coach, with superstar Kawhi Leonard primary the way. Leonard left for the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency soon just after Toronto’s title run, but below Nurse the Raptors have not skipped a defeat with out him.

111-43 history in 2 seasons

The Raptors went 7-1 in the seeding online games when the NBA resumed perform next a months-prolonged hiatus because of to the COVID-19 pandemic. They will search for their very first ever playoff sweep on Sunday, when they get a 3- lead into their sequence with the Brooklyn Nets.

Nurse is 111-43 in two seasons. He has extra than validated the Raptors’ choice to hearth Dwane Casey in 2018, even nevertheless Casey had been mentor of the 12 months that time right after guiding Toronto to a 59-23 document.

But the Raptors saved getting overrun by LeBron James and Cleveland in the playoffs. So team president Masai Ujiri made a decision to part ways with Casey, the franchise’s career chief in victories, and endorse Nurse, who had been an assistant for five yrs.

Nurse has already nearly caught Casey for the Raptors’ report for playoff wins by going 19-8 in excess of the final two seasons. Casey was 21-30.

Nurse has been praised for his skill to adjust on the fly and implement oddball defensive schemes that supply benefits. His use of the box-and-a single scheme, hardly ever seen at the specialist degree, aided incorporate Golden Point out sharpshooter Stephen Curry at past year’s NBA Finals.

Sam Mitchell is the only other Raptors coach to earn the award, accomplishing so in 2007.