76ers hire Nick Nurse as head coach

Nurse himself was fired by the Raptors on April 21 after going 41-41 and missing the playoffs. Despite the forgettable end to his time north of the border, Nurse will always be remembered for helping deliver Toronto its first NBA title in franchise history with Kawhi Leonard in 2019. 

In Philadelphia, Nurse's task will be to complete "The Process" that began following the team's loss to the Miami Heat in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. 

The front office led by then-general manager Sam Hinkie began a fire sale of players and stockpiling draft picks. 

The result was years of misery for fans in the City of Brotherly Love as the Sixers went just 109-301 from 2012-17, a putrid .266 winning percentage over those six postseasonless seasons. 

Things finally seemed to be turning the corner in Philadelphia in 2017-18 however, with the roster full of draft picks, headlined by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. In the 2017-18 season, the 76ers jumped from 28 to 52 wins. 

Despite the talent amassed in Philly, six straight postseason berths have ended in disappointment. After leading the team through the turbulent early seasons of "The Process," head coach Brett Brown failed to make it past the Eastern Conference semifinals. That bar proved too high for Doc Rivers to jump in his three seasons at the helm. 

The final straw for Rivers this season was an embarrassing Game 7 defeat against the Boston Celtics as Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown outplayed this season's MVP Embiid and former MVP James Harden in Boston, 112-88. 

Embiid will certainly be pn the team next season for Nurse and the Sixers as the 29-year-old center is under contract until 2026-27, but there there are other questions regarding the roster. The biggest one is centers on Harden's status.  

He has the option to return to Philadelphia for another season and make $35.6M, but according to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes, Harden doesn't see this as an attractive choice. 

This season marked 40 years since The Sixers last won an NBA title. In that time 17 different men have taken up the mantle of head coach, with just one (Larry Brown, 2000-01) making it to the Finals.