Shortly after he became the Raptors head coach, Nick Nurse visited Phil Jackson near his summer retreat in Montana for coffee. They ended up spending three days together that helped shape Toronto's championship philosophy. (By: MichaelGrange)
Jackson might have gotten the better of that deal. The former Bulls andbench boss had the Hall-of-Fame forward on his roster for Chicago’s second ‘three-peat,’ as has been documented during the Last Dance, the 10-part documentary of the last season of Michael Jordan’s Bulls dynasty which is approaching its conclusion.
Once of the first things Nurse did when he was made Raptors head coach in the summer of 2018 was reach out to Jackson through Raptors health and performance guru Alex McKechnie, who was on Jackson’s Lakers staff. “I get there, we go have a cup of coffee and he says ‘Hop in my truck’ and we drive around the lake for a couple hours,” says Nurse. “I’m just kind of sitting there with the windows down going, ‘Wow.’”Get the best of our Raptors coverage and exclusives delivered directly to your inbox!It was a case of a first-year NBA head coach not only leveraging his relationships to meet with one of the most respected minds in the sport, but a full-circle moment.
When Nurse was starting out as a head coach in the British Basketball League, Jordan, Jackson and the Bulls were ascendant. During that pre-digital age, Nurse signed up for a subscription service that would deliver week-old VHS tapes of NBA games — in this case, Bulls games — and Nurse would wear them out, watching and rewinding, stopping and starting.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Raptors' cautious return to activities a step forward on long road ahead - Sportsnet.caReturning to the Raptors' OVO Athletic Centre in any format is progress. How long it will take players to be game ready after a two-month layoff and what the NBA season will look like at that point remains anyone's guess. (michaelgrange)
Read more »
Bayern Munich CEO: 'There will be an impact' on transfer market - Sportsnet.caBayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is 'convinced' COVID-19 will impact soccer's summer transfer window. 'I’m listening to many colleagues in Spain, in Italy or in England. Everybody has to take care of their financial situation.' | GalindoPW
Read more »
NBA now up to 10 teams back for voluntary workouts - Sportsnet.caWith Miami re-opening its doors Wednesday, 10 of the league's 30 teams have gone forward with on-court individual workouts - the first permitted sessions since the league ordered teams to close their training facilities as part of the coronavirus pandemic response about two months ago.
Read more »
Florida governor willing to host teams for restart of sports - Sportsnet.ca'I think the message is that our people are starved to have some of this back in their lives...So we want to be able to do that.'' GovRonDeSantis is ready to welcome professional sports leagues to resume in Florida.
Read more »
Theresa Feaster becomes first woman on U.S. junior team coaching staff - Sportsnet.caTheresa Feaster has been named the video coach for the U.S. national junior team, making her the first woman to hold such a role on the coaching staff for the American national junior team.
Read more »
Hunt leaves 67's, Redblacks ownership group to focus on CPL's Atletico Ottawa - Sportsnet.caJeff Hunt is leaving the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group — which owns the OHL's 67's and CFL's Redblacks — to focus on the city's new Canadian Premier League soccer franchise, Atletico Ottawa.
Read more »