TORONTO -- The NBA has announced that Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been named the Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 season.
In a news release issued on Saturday, Raptors President Masai Ujiri congratulated Nurse while underscoring his “creative and dynamic” approach to the game at the helm of the defending NBA champions.
“When you see Nick on the sidelines, that’s who he is as a person. Relaxed, but so hard-working,” Ujiri said. “That is who Nick is, that is why we believe in him. His journey to this tremendous honour has been a long one – we are so happy to see him recognized this way.”
Under his leadership, the Raptors finished off the regular season with a 53-19 record while also setting a franchise-record .736 winning percentage.
The team would also add a franchise-record of 15 straight victories this season, from January 15 to February 10, the longest winning streak in Canadian sports history.
As well, following the end of the season restart in Orlando with a 7-1 record, the Raptors would extend their streak of consecutive calendar months with a winning record to 24, the longest in franchise history and the longest current streak in the NBA.
Originally from Carroll, Iowa, Nurse was named Toronto’s head coach on June 14, 2018 after five years as an assistant coach with the team. Less than a year later, he would become the ninth rookie head coach in league history to win an NBA Championship title.
Nurse is the third coach in Raptors history to win the prestigious award and joins the ranks of Dwane Casey (2017-18) and Sam Mitchell (2006-07).
Speaking at a news conference on Saturday, Nurse was asked if he ever thought that he would receive such an honour, to which he admitted that he doesn't focus "much" on the Coach of the Year award.
"I must be honest with you, I certainly just focus on trying to win the championship each and every year," he said.
Nurse was a runaway winner for the award and received 90 first-place votes from a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. He finished with 470 points.
Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer was second after leading the Bucks to the best record in the suspended season, earning 147 points. Oklahoma City's Billy Donovan (134) was third.
Raptors guard Kyle Lowry presented Nurse with the Red Auerbach Trophy alongside Fred VanVleet on Saturday afternoon.
Toronto Mayor John Tory also offered his congratulations in a tweet calling Nurse a "true champion" on and off the basketball court.
With files from the Canadian Press.
