Fresh off an NBA championship in his first season with the Raptors, Nick Nurse has lined up another head coaching gig. According to a press release, Nurse has officially been named the head coach of Team Canada ahead of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
While Nurse’s appointment as the coach of the Canadian men’s basketball program wasn’t officially finalized until today, a report back in May indicated that he would be the choice. His commitment will run through the 2020 Olympics, Team Canada announced today (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca).
“Nick fits our Gold Medal Profile as he is a proven leader with extensive experience coaching FIBA, NBA and other professional leagues around the world,” Team Canada GM Rowan Barrett said in a statement. “His coaching pedigree shows his ability to win at some of the highest levels and he has a tremendous understanding of the FIBA game and our Canadian NBA players. We strongly believe that this unique combination gives our players the best opportunity for success at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.”
It remains to be seen which players will be representing Canada at the 2019 World Cup — or at the 2020 Olympics, should the team qualify. With Nurse leading the way, perhaps a few more NBA players will be interested in participating.
Jamal Murray, Andrew Wiggins, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph, Kelly Olynyk, Dillon Brooks, Dwight Powell, and Khem Birch are among the NBA veterans who are Canadian.
A handful of incoming rookies could also receive consideration for the World Cup roster, as R.J. Barrett, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Brandon Clarke were among the six Canadians drafted last Thursday.
Where is Anthony Bennett on that list? He always excels playing for Canada.
Just too many bodies have seemingly passed him on the depth chart, unfortunately for Anthony. A lot of great, young and upcoming talent from Canada.
He only excelled at the pan-am games against the team USA Z team.
team canada might be a team on the rise and now they got a champ as a HC
so I know the players have to be Canadian but do the coaches as well ?
No
surprisingly hc wasn’t given to that load mouth punk drake