Nick Nurse wins PBWA’s 2019-20 Rudy Tomjanovich Award

Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors has won the 2019-20 Rudy Tomjanovich Award, which honors an NBA coach for his cooperation with the media and fans, as well as his excellence on the court, the Professional Basketball Writers Association announced today.

Nurse led the Raptors to a 53-19 record and a playoff berth in his second season as their coach.

Nurse is thoughtful with his answers to reporters’ questions and is generous with his time with the working press.

The PBWA selected five finalists for the award. The other finalists were Mike D’Antoni of the Houston Rockets, Nate McMillan of the Indiana Pacers, Lloyd Pierce of the Atlanta Hawks and Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns.

PBWA members selected Nurse as the winner through a vote.

The award is named for Rudy Tomjanovich, a former Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers coach who always was professional and respectful while dealing with the media. During his 13 seasons as an NBA head coach, Tomjanovich compiled a 527-416 regular-season record and a 51-39 postseason record. His Rockets won back-to-back NBA titles in 1994 and 1995.

The PBWA is composed of more than 200 writers and editors who cover the NBA on a regular basis for newspapers, online news outlets and magazines.

Rudy Tomjanovich Award winners
2010-11 Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz
2011-12 Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics
2012-13 George Karl, Denver Nuggets
2013-14 Frank Vogel, Indiana Pacers
2014-15 Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
2015-16 Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors
2016-17 Stan Van Gundy, Detroit Pistons
2017-18 Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
2018-19 Doc Rivers, Los Angeles Clippers
2019-20 Nick Nurse, Toronto Raptors

(Photo of Nick Nurse: Peter Power/NBAE via Getty Images)