Nick Nurse and Chris Finch reunited in Toronto

Image Credit: Mansoor Ahmed/ahmedphotos

Former Great Britain Olympic coaching duo Nick Nurse and Chris Finch will be reunited in the NBA, as Nurse has hired Finch as his assistant with the Toronto Raptors.

There is a third member of the British contingent in the Raptors programme, as Newcastle Eagles legend Fab Flournoy is also on the coaching staff, having been hired when Nurse first got the job. All three know each other well from their time in the BBL and have a combined 38 BBL titles between them, according to Dan Routledge.

Meanwhile, Raptors President Masai Ujiri also played in the BBL.

Finch – who began his coaching career with the Sheffield Sharks from 1997-2003 and was named BBL Coach of the Year in 1998-99 – was at the helm of the Great Britain national team programme from 2006 through to the London 2012 Olympics, being assisted by Nick Nurse from 2008.

Finch has most recently spent the past three years in New Orleans (2017-20), including last season as Associate Head Coach. He has also served as an assistant coach with Denver (2016-17) and Houston (2011-16).

Chris Finch and Nick Nurse’s BBL match-ups included the league’s all-time regular season record attendance of 11,143 in the 1998-99 league title decider.

Nurse was hired by Toronto in 2018 and has since won an NBA title and NBA Coach of the Year award.

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