Rapture - Nick Nurse

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⭐ 7.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

This is the book by (former) Raptors coach Nick Nurse about his coaching journey that led him overseas, coaching in all these minor and European leagues before getting his shot in the NBA. It's an interesting story because coaches usually just come from the NBA as former players, nepo kids, or someone with strong connections to a coaching legend. As Nurse points out, he's not from any legendary coaching tree or NBA legacy, he's just a small-town country boy who had to work his way up. Who doesn't love an underdog story!!!

But the other thing about Nick Nurse is that he's kinda annoying and self-important. I'm a big believer in coaches not really mattering, so I didn't really want to read a book that says, if you just put in the hours, you can have coaching success at every level! Alright Nick, maybe it was Kawhi that won, not you...

But I think it's clear that he influenced some level of success, having won a lot at all his stops. I have some interest in coaching someday, so it was nice to hear his stories and his tips. He can definitely be lame sometimes with his messaging, but obviously it's worked for him.

Still, aside from all that, this was a cool look at the inner workings of the basketball world. From contracts to interviews, to pregame speeches to that magical run in 2019, this book had a lot of cool insight. This book was also short (I got through it in one day) and ended at a high point. I'd maybe like to hear his thoughts today, having coached a bunch of mediocre seasons when he doesn't have superstars (he wrote this right after his championship season), but hey, I'll let Nick have this one.

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