It appears that Nick Nurse will have a shot to play for two championships this year.
The Toronto Raptors bench boss will be the head coach of Team Canada this summer at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in China, sources told Peter Yannopoulos of RDS.
Canada could qualify for its first Olympic berth since 2000 with a top-seven finish at the World Cup. If the team qualifies, Nurse will also lead Canada at the 2020 Games, according to The Canadian Press.
The Iowa native posted a 58-24 record and led the Raptors to their first-ever Eastern Conference championship during his first year at the helm. In doing so, the 51-year-old became the sixth rookie head coach in the past 40 years to reach the NBA Finals, according to Sportsnet Stats.
Beforehand, Nurse served as an assistant coach under Dwane Casey for five seasons and won two G League (formerly known as D-League) championships (2011, 2013) as head coach of the Iowa Energy and Rio Grande Valley Vipers, respectively.
Canada's previous head coach, Jay Triano, withdrew his name from consideration for the position, citing personal reasons. He coached the team in two stints, dating back to 1998. In his most recent stretch, Canada logged a 27-5 record over the last four summers, including a 4-0 mark in 2018.
