SJM Nick Nurse - FINAL - REG2_Pages 2 / 22 / 24 12 : 47 PM Page 2 zation , hiring staff , getting to know players , finding your way around town , around the arena ; that kind of stuff . Everybody in this organization does everything first class , and the fans have been very welcoming . What about this area ? How are you and your family enjoying living here now that you’ve been settled in for a little while ? We really like it . … It’s a good commu - nity and the people have been very helpful . We’re very happy and blessed that it turned out well . Outside of the practice facility , have you gotten any time to get out and explore South Jersey a bit ? I did get lucky enough to get to the Shore over Labor Day weekend . That was fun . I have a couple little guys that ran around on the beach and did the Shore thing , so that was good . I haven’t had a whole lot of free time to get out to too many restaurants , but I have snuck in a couple concerts and shows here and there . That is kind of my off - day activity , to try and find a good concert . Having coached against the guys The irony is not lost on Nick Nurse . on the team previously , does that After all , it was just a few short years ago that he was coaching the Toronto giveyou a different perspective Raptors — his first year as an NBA coach — and watching his team knock off the whentaking over the roster in the Philadelphia 76ers in a fateful Game 7 of the Eastern Conference playoffs . His star sensethat you’ve tried to stop them player Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer - beating shot bounced around the rim four times inthe past , and now you’re trying to before falling through the basket , sinking the Sixers ’ season and catapulting Nurse unlocktheir full potential ? and his squad to the NBA Championship . I think you said it just right . I did feel like But now that he’s switched sidelines and is in the midst of his first season leading I knew this team really well . That was the Sixers , he’s energetic about the fresh start with a new team and eager to move for - part of what attracted me to the job in ward . That doesn’t mean he’s still not reminded from time to time about that 2019 the first place : I knew how good the playoff game and how it devastated the local fan base . teamwas and how difficult it was to “ I heard about it a bit during the first few weeks [ of me taking the job ] , but you coachagainst them . And we played actually just broke the streak right there , ” Nurse says with a laugh . themso much [ over the years ] , in two Now , fully focused on his new squad , he has the Sixers playing well . And under playoffseries and of course all the reg - his tutelage , superstar player Joel Embiid , fresh off his MVP season a year ago , ularseason games . appeared to have taken another major step in his progression before severely Butyou don’t really get to know a injuring his leg in late January . team until you’re coaching them from After a recent practice at the team’s facility in Camden , we had the opportunity to theinside . I’ve been pleasantly sur - catch up with Nurse and talk basketball , family and more . As he adjusts to his new prisedand happy , because I think there’s surroundings , he shared what it’s been like for him coaching a team he’s competed so someguys who are better than I often against and why he’s excited for what the future holds . thought , and I admired them a lot already [ laughs ] . I think there’s still room So , you deep into this season and the team has had some really good forgrowth , so it’s been exciting . stretches , especially before Joel’s injury . How has the adjustment been for you since joining the organization ? You worked your way up the It’s been good , pretty smooth . I am fortunate that this is my second time taking over coachingranks , in college and a team and I think it allowed me to know what to expect a little bit . It’s a bit of a whirl - overseas , as well as at the NBA wind starting with a new team , as far as getting to know the members of the organi - developmentalleague level . How S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E | V O L U M E 2 0 • I S S U E 1 1 | S O U T H J E R S E Y M A G A Z I N E . C O M | 1 7