Background and career
Nicholas David Nurse (born July 24, 1967) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coach for the Toronto Raptors, whom he led to an NBA championship in 2019 and with whom he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2020. Nurse played college basketball for the Northern Iowa Panthers. He played professional basketball with the Derby Rams in the British Basketball League.
Nicholas David Nurse was born on July 24, 1967, in Carroll, Iowa. Nurse attended the Kuemper Catholic School System, where he excelled in basketball.
Nurse played at the University of Northern Iowa from 1985 to 1989, appearing in 111 games. He is the school's all-time three-point percentage leader at .468 (170 of 363). At Northern Iowa, Nurse was a teammate of future Division I college coach Greg McDermott. He was the team's sole student assistant coach during their successful 1989–90 season. Nurse graduated from Northern Iowa in May 1990 with a B.A. in accounting.
Nurse became a player-coach for the Derby Rams in the British Basketball League during the 1990–91 season; following the season, Nurse never played professionally again, opting to pursue a full-time coaching career.
During their successful 1989–90 season, Nurse was the sole student assistant coach for Northern Iowa in his final year with the team.
In 1991, Nurse got his first full-time head coaching job at Grand View University at age 23. At the time, he was the youngest college basketball head coach in the country. Nurse coached at Grand View for two seasons.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
