Basketball Canada announced Wednesday that Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez will replace former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse as head coach of the Canadian men’s basketball team.
Nurse, who was hired by the Canadian basketball team in 2019, had a contract to coach the Canadian team until the 2024 Olympics. He was fired as coach of the Toronto Raptors earlier this year and is now coaching the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I have made the difficult decision to step down as head coach of the Canadian Senior Men’s National Basketball Team,” Nurse said in a statement. “It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to coach this team. I felt it was important to dedicate my time and energy to
Fernandez recently completed his first season as an associate head coach with the Sacramento Kings, helping the team to a 48-34 record, their best regular-season record since the 2004-05 season. He has spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets.
Internationally, Fernandez was the lead assistant for the Nigerian men’s national team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Fernandez led Canada to the World Cup this summer and is expected to remain in that position if he qualifies for the Paris Olympics next year.
“Having the opportunity to lead Canada in this summer’s World Cup is a very exciting opportunity and I am very grateful,” Fernandez said. “There are not many international programs as capped as this team.
The FIBA World Cup will be held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia from August 25th to September 10th.
— with files from The Associated Press
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