Raptors' Nick Nurse named NBA's Coach of the Year

Nurse beat out Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan to win the award. 

Nurse coached the Raptors to a 53-19 record this season, which was good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference. What's even more impressive about that record is that Toronto did so without Kawhi Leonard. The Raptors lost the superstar forward in free agency to the Los Angeles Clippers after winning the NBA title last season.

Toronto also saw veteran guard Danny Green leave the club and join the Lakers during the offseason. 

The Raptors' season was highlighted by a franchise-record 15 straight victories from Jan. 15 to Feb. 10. During that stretch, Toronto averaged 121.2 points and shot 50.4 percent from the field. 

They accomplished all of this while suffering many injuries throughout the season, which required Nurse to make some important decisions down the stretch. 

Nurse was an assistant coach with the Raptors for five years from 2013 to '18 before taking over as head coach in June 2018.