Rapture
Fifteen Teams, Four Countries, One NBA Championship, and How to Find a Way to Win -- Damn Near Anywhere
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Beschreibung des Verlags
Nick Nurse distills the wisdom, insight, and experiences that helped him lead the Toronto Raptors to the NBA championship in his first year as head coach. Foreword by Phil Jackson.
NBA fans had modest expectations for rookie coach Nick Nurse and his Toronto Raptors. But what those naysayers didn't realize was that Nurse had spent the past thirty years proving himself at every level of the game, from youth programs and college ball to the NBA D League and Britain's struggling pro circuit. While few coaches have taken such a circuitous path to pro basketball's promised land, the journey-which began at Kuemper Catholic high school in Carroll, Iowa-forged a coach who proved to be as unshakable as he is personable.
On the road, he is known to bring his guitar and keyboard for late-night jazz and blues sessions. In the locker room, he's steadfast and even-keeled regardless of the score. On the court, he pulls out old-school tactics with astounding success. A rookie in name but a veteran in attitude, Nurse is seemingly above the chaos of the game and, with only two seasons on his résumé, has already established himself as one of the NBA's most admired head coaches.
Now, in this revealing new book-equal parts personal memoir, leadership manifesto, and philosophical meditation-Nurse tells his own story. Given unprecedented access inside the Raptors' locker room, readers get an intimate study of not only the team culture he has built, but also of a rookie coach's unique dynamic with the star players-such as Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam-who helped trailblaze the 2019 championship run. As much for readers of Ray Dalio as for fans of John Wooden and Pat Summitt, Rapture promises to be a necessary read for anyone looking to forge their own path to success.
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In this enthusiastic memoir, Toronto Raptors head coach Nurse details his decades-long path to winning an NBA championship. Before landing in his position with the Raptors, Nurse had a fairly nontraditional r sum : one year in Belgium and four stints coaching in the British Basketball League (including the Brighton Bears beginning in 2001, where as part owner of the team he had to beg banks for credit). When the Bears franchise folded, he returned to Iowa in 2007, where he put flyers on windshields to get work as a shooting coach, while lobbying for the creation of a D-league team in Des Moines so he could coach it. "There's a fine line between entrepreneurial and desperate," he writes. Throughout the obscure championships and job changes, Nurse developed a strategy being brutally honest with players while also earnestly listening to their suggestions which earned him a spot as an NBA assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors in 2013. Nurse comes across as grateful and resourceful in recounting his circuitous route to pro basketball glory. The narrative loses some momentum when Nurse chronicles the Raptors' 2019 championship run, but his down-to-earth approach more than makes up for it. This inspiring take on turning a dream into a dream job is pure joy for basketball fans.