Toronto Raptors fire coach Nick Nurse after 41-41 season

April 21 (UPI) -- The Toronto Raptors basketball team fired coach Nick Nurse after posting a 41-41 record in 2022-23, the team announced Friday morning.

"The decision to make a change like this is never arrived at easily or taken lightly, especially when it comes to a person who has been an integral part of this franchise's most historic accomplishments, and who has been a steady leader through some of our team's most challenging times, Raptors president Masai Ujiri said in a news release.

"As we reflect on Nick's many successes, we thank him and his family and wish them the best in the future. This is an opportunity for us to reset, to refocus, to put into place the personnel and the players who will help us reach our goal of winning our next championship."

Nurse led the Raptors to a 227-163 record in five seasons as coach. The 2019-20 Coach of the Year also led the team to a championship in 2019.

Nurse, 55, was a Raptors assistant coach from 2013 to 2018. He coached the NBA G League's Iowa Energy and the Rio Grande Valley Vipers before he joined the Raptors.

He first served as a head coach from 1991 to 1993 at Grand View University. He also coached in England and Belgium.