Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jordi Fernandez is replacing former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse as the head coach of the Canadian men’s basketball team, Canada Basketball announced Wednesday.
Nurse, who was hired by Canada Basketball in 2019, had a contract to coach the Canadian team through the 2024 Olympics. He was fired as coach of the Toronto Raptors earlier this year and is now coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I have made the difficult decision to step down as head coach of the senior men’s national team for Canada Basketball,” Nurse said in statement. “It has been a tremendous honour and privilege to coach this team. This is not a decision I made lightly, and after discussing it with my family, I felt it was important to dedicate my time and energy to the new opportunity I have as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.”
Fernandez recently completed his first season as associate head coach with the Sacramento Kings, where he helped guide the team to a 48-34 record — their best regular season since 2004-05. He spent the previous six seasons as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets.
Internationally, Fernández was the lead assistant for the Nigerian men’s national team at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Fernandez will lead Canada into this summer’s World Cup and is also expected to remain in place should Canada qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics.
“To have the chance to lead Canada this summer at the World Cup is a tremendously exciting opportunity and one I’m extremely grateful for,” Fernandez said. “Not many international programs have the ceiling that this team does, and it is a testament to the hard work and development Canada Basketball, as well as Nick and his staff, have put in over the last several years.”
The FIBA World Cup will be held Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
–With files from The Associated Press.