September 08, 2026
Kevin Barrett/for PhillyVoice
Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey has firm job security. Can head coach Nick Nurse say the same?
On Jan. 7, 2026, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse sat down for his usual pregame press conference after a team official told reporters that the three Sixers listed on that night's injury report were probable. I began to ask about Nurse's team finally returning to full strength.
"Nick, if those three guys do end up playing, it would be the first time you've had everybody available since December of 2023," I said.
Nurse chuckled as I recited that fact. How could he not? His three years in Philadelphia have been defined by a lack of availability. Joel Embiid has constantly been in and out of the lineup; many of Embiid's appearances under Nurse have not resembled his prior NBA MVP form. Paul George did not even play in half of his regular-season games in two years with the Sixers, both because of ailments and a shocking 25-game suspension. Even Tyrese Maxey has had multiple long-term injuries.
The suboptimal circumstances Nurse has faced, Sixers Managing Partner Josh Harris said at the start of the offseason, contributed to the organization's decision to keep him around – even when the executive who hired him, Daryl Morey, was let go. But there is no question that Nurse faces more pressure than ever in 2026-27 – for a number of reasons.
This week's Sixers mailbag explores the extent to which Nurse will be under a microscope next season – before pivoting to my own job, as I have received a handful of questions about preparing to cover LeBron James:
From @RyanMurph28: What seems to be the overall consensus on Nick Nurse? Feels like he’s had some really good moments (Boston series) but also times where his tactics/creativity feel stale. Do you think this is a make-or-break year for him?
I think your perspective on Nurse is the one that most people around here share, Ryan. Nobody doubts that Nurse can be a high-level coach given he has been one at many points during his career, but it has not often felt like he was giving his team a significant advantage over the last three years.
It had to be rewarding for Nurse's supporters and defenders to see him outperform NBA Coach of the Year Joe Mazzulla in the Sixers' first-round series victory over the Boston Celtics last season. Even just the three games in which Nurse's team mounted a 3-1 series comeback provided a proof of concept: a Nurse-led Sixers team can become more than the sum of its parts.
When Nurse's time with the Toronto Raptors came to an end and Daryl Morey hired him to replace Doc Rivers, the move was met with plenty of local optimism. Nurse was thought of as one of the league's top outside-the-box thinkers, a creative mind whose famous use of a box-and-one defense in the NBA Finals was a signature of his unorthodox style.
You are certainly right that it has rarely felt like Nurse has carried out particularly creative schemes or decisions in Philadelphia. But, to be fair, his hands have typically been tied. Nurse has coached 265 Sixers games between the regular season and postseason and has had a full complement of players 15-20 times.
That brings us to the second part of your question. Because Nurse has had three underwhelming years, because he is about to coach as talented of a team as he will ever have, because the Sixers will be a national attraction, because Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey is new on the job and because this team is uniquely designed to withstand injuries, there has never been more pressure on Nurse.
Calling it a make-or-break year absolutely seems fair to me given the circumstances.
Nurse has an incredible opportunity in front of him, with Embiid, Maxey, James, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe all at his disposal. But that opportunity is coming with a microscope focused squarely on his coaching.
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From @ChrisBernucca: This Sixers team is a traveling circus by NBA standards. How much different do you expect the rigors of your beat to be this season as opposed to last season?
From @kellenpastore.bsky.social: How are you preparing for dealing with the increased number of reporters that will be around the Sixers now that LeBron is on the team?
From @taeoct6jr: How many new LeBron fans have followed you since he signed?
I am anticipating the nature of my job to be a whole lot different moving forward, because that is what life is like covering a LeBron James team – or so I have heard. But my approach to the job will largely be unchanged.
I expect there to be many more reporters around the Sixers on a daily basis – both national reporters dropping in frequently and local reporters not firmly on the beat spending time at the arena and facility more regularly. That dynamic breeds competition, certainly. But I do my best to cover every iteration of the Sixers like they are the most important team in the world. The fact that some people would now agree with that assessment does not change a ton on my end.
Interviewing a figure of James' stature and being around what will be an extremely memorable team is certainly an opportunity that is hard to come by in this business. I am eager to face the challenge.
There will be many more eyes on the Sixers – as evidenced by the thousands of followers I gained within a day or two of James' decision – and I am hopeful to win over as many new readers as I can. I even went as far as to write a newcomer's guide to rooting for the Sixers to capitalize on the many fans migrating over here.
Ultimately, as the figures involved with the Sixers constantly change, my job largely stays the same – even if the platform grows or shrinks.
My focus remains giving folks the best insight, information and entertainment I can, using my access to the team to uncover and tell compelling stories while also tackling the things I do not feel get enough public recognition. I am optimistic that the institutional knowledge I have accumulated during my time on the beat will be of great value as this season gets underway.
MORE: After 'crazy transition,' Jaylen Brown ready to win with Sixers
