Sacramento Kings’ Jordi Fernandez to replace Nick Nurse as Canada’s head coach: reports | CBC Sports

By Charlie On Jun 28, 2023

The Canadian men’s basketball team has a new head coach, according to reports.

Jordi Fernandez, an associate head coach with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, will lead the Canadian men in their pursuit of a Olympic berth in Paris 2024, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Toronto Star.

The Spaniard will take over for former Raptors coach Nick Nurse, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in June.

Newcomer Fernandez spent six years with the Denver Nuggets as an assistant before making the move to Sacramento in 2022, where he became a sought-after coach often linked to managerial jobs — including the Raptors.

The 40-year-old also has experience as an assistant coach with Spain’s men’s under-19 team and Nigeria’s men’s national team.

Nurse, who had been with Team Canada since 2019, was fired by the Raptors in April following a disappointing season that saw Toronto finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference and fail to make the playoffs after a play-in loss to the Chicago Bulls.

Nurse’s firing is a clear change of course from late April, when Canada Basketball said the 2019 NBA champion would remain in the program despite being let go by the Raptors.

“Canada Basketball and our senior men’s national team coach, Nick Nurse, are focused on this summer’s FIBA Basketball World Cup and qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” read a statement sent to CBC Sports in April 21. “Nick will continue to be our head coach as we work to achieve our goals this summer and next.”

The FIBA World Cup begins in late August and will help determine qualification for the 2024 Summer Games; the top two finishers from North America will qualify. Canada begins group play Aug. 25 against France and will also play Lebanon and Latvia in Group H.

Canada has not qualified for the Olympic men’s basketball tournament since 2000 and has never finished better than fourth. The nation is currently No. 15 in the FIBA world rankings and has a roster that could include Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, R.J. Barrett and Dillon Brooks

WATCH | Canada basketball GM Rowan Barrett discusses path to Paris:

Canada Basketball GM Rowan Barrett on Canada’s pathway to Paris 2024

Host Morgan Campbell is joined by Canada Basketball General Manager Rowan Barrett to discuss the development of the men’s program and what they’ll need to do to qualify for Paris 2024.

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