Examining decision made by Sixers to keep Nick Nurse as head coach

The Philadelphia 76ers made the decision on Tuesday to move on from Daryl Morey after six seasons as the team's President of Basketball Operations. The Sixers had some good moments under Morey's guidance, and he was a big part of all of that, but they just could never get over the hump and the Sixers decided a change was needed.

With that being said, one aspect of the team will remain unchanged as coach Nick Nurse will return for his fourth season at the helm in 2026-27. In three seasons in Philadelphia, Nurse has a 116-130 record, largely affected by the 2024-25 season when the Sixers were ravaged by injuries and finished 24-58. When Nurse had a mostly healthy roster, Philadelphia was 47-35 in the 2023-24 season and finished 45-37 in 2025-26 and won a playoff series as the 7 seed over the Boston Celtics.

With that being said, many are questioning the decision to bring Nurse back. Many would like to see the new regime pick its own coach and have everybody on the same page, but it makes sense to bring back Nurse.

Sure, Nurse has his warts. There are rotation questions and scheme questions, but he has done a terrific job given the circumstances around the roster. He really hasn't gotten a fair shake when considering the injuries to guys like Joel Embiid, Paul George, and others throughout his three years in Philadelphia, but he has kept this group together to make sure they are doing their job and he has done a fantastic job of getting the most out of the roster.

There was a stretch in the 2025-26 season in March that could have doomed this team as they had to navigate the George suspension as well as injuries to Embiid and Tyrese Maxey that left them sidelined. Instead, Nurse navigated it the best he could and kept Philadelphia afloat. The Sixers easily could have fallen out of the play-in tournament even during that stretch, but Nurse pushed the right buttons, called upon the right players, and had some success despite the shortcomings of the overall roster during that moment in the season.