NEW YORK — Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been named the 2019-20 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today.
This is the first NBA Coach of the Year Award for Nurse, who is in his second season as an NBA head coach. Nurse, the 2010-11 NBA G League Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year with the Iowa Energy (now the Iowa Wolves), becomes the first coach to be selected as Coach of the Year in both the NBA and the NBA G League.
Nurse received 90 first-place votes from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters and earned 470 total points. Two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer of the Milwaukee Bucks (147 points; five first-place votes) and Billy Donovan of the Oklahoma City Thunder (134 points; four first-place votes) finished in second and third place, respectively.
Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. The voting was conducted based on regular-season games played through March 11. The seeding games, which were played July 30- Aug. 14 as part of the season restart, did not count toward voting for the NBA Coach of the Year Award or the league’s other traditional end-of-season awards.
In games played through March 11, Nurse led the Raptors (46-18, .719) to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and the third-best record in the NBA even though the team’s top five players in scoring average missed at least 11 games each. During this period, Toronto ranked second in the league in defensive rating despite a 28-game absence for starting center and 2012-13 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol and the departure of two-time Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard in the 2019 offseason.
Nurse was named the NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October/November (14-4) and January (12-3). He guided the Raptors to a franchise-record 15-game winning streak Jan. 15 – Feb. 10.
Under Nurse, 2018-19 Kia NBA Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam was named an NBA All-Star for the first time and Kyle Lowry earned his sixth consecutive All-Star selection. Fred VanVleet and Norman Powell flourished with larger roles, while undrafted rookie Terence Davis II emerged as a contributor.
Nurse was named the Raptors’ head coach in June 2018 after spending five seasons as an assistant coach with Toronto. As a first-year NBA head coach last season, Nurse guided the Raptors to their first NBA championship. He is the only coach to win championships in both the NBA and the NBA G League, having won titles with the Energy (2010-11) and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2012-13) in the NBA G League.
Nurse receives the Red Auerbach Trophy as NBA Coach of the Year, joining Sam Mitchell (2006-07) and Dwane Casey (2017-18) as winners with the Raptors. Auerbach, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, coached the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships, including eight in a row from 1959-66.
NBA COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD RECIPIENTS
1962-63 – Harry Gallatin, St. Louis 1963-64 – Alex Hannum, San Francisco 1964-65 – Red Auerbach, Boston 1965-66 – Dolph Schayes, Philadelphia 1966-67 – Johnny Kerr, Chicago 1967-68 – Richie Guerin, St. Louis 1968-69 – Gene Shue, Baltimore 1969-70 – Red Holzman, New York 1970-71 – Dick Motta, Chicago 1971-72 – Bill Sharman, L.A. Lakers 1972-73 – Tom Heinsohn, Boston 1973-74 – Ray Scott, Detroit 1974-75 – Phil Johnson, Kansas City-Omaha 1975-76 – Bill Fitch, Cleveland 1976-77 – Tom Nissalke, Houston 1977-78 – Hubie Brown, Atlanta 1978-79 – Cotton Fitzsimmons, Kansas City 1979-80 – Bill Fitch, Boston 1980-81 – Jack McKinney, Indiana 1981-82 – Gene Shue, Washington 1982-83 – Don Nelson, Milwaukee 1983-84 – Frank Layden, Utah 1984-85 – Don Nelson, Milwaukee 1985-86 – Mike Fratello, Atlanta 1986-87 – Mike Schuler, Portland 1987-88 – Doug Moe, Denver 1988-89 – Cotton Fitzsimmons, Phoenix 1989-90 – Pat Riley, L.A. Lakers 1990-91 – Don Chaney, Houston 1991-92 – Don Nelson, Golden State 1992-93 – Pat Riley, New York 1993-94 – Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta 1994-95 – Del Harris, L.A. Lakers 1995-96 – Phil Jackson, Chicago 1996-97 – Pat Riley, Miami 1997-98 – Larry Bird, Indiana 1998-99 – Mike Dunleavy, Portland 1999-00 – Doc Rivers, Orlando 2000-01 – Larry Brown, Philadelphia 2001-02 – Rick Carlisle, Detroit 2002-03 – Gregg Popovich, San Antonio 2003-04 – Hubie Brown, Memphis 2004-05 – Mike D’Antoni, Phoenix 2005-06 – Avery Johnson, Dallas 2006-07 – Sam Mitchell, Toronto 2007-08 – Byron Scott, New Orleans 2008-09 – Mike Brown, Cleveland 2009-10 – Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City 2010-11 – Tom Thibodeau, Chicago 2011-12 – Gregg Popovich, San Antonio 2012-13 – George Karl, Denver 2013-14 – Gregg Popovich, San Antonio 2014-15 – Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta 2015-16 – Steve Kerr, Golden State 2016-17 – Mike D’Antoni, Houston 2017-18 – Dwane Casey, Toronto 2018-19 – Mike Budenholzer, Milwaukee 2019-20 – Nick Nurse, Toronto
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
