Overview
- Multiple outlets reported Friday that Phil Handy is finalizing a deal to become an assistant coach under Nick Nurse with the Philadelphia 76ers.
- Handy is a three-time NBA champion who coached with Cleveland, Toronto and the Lakers and spent last season on the Dallas Mavericks staff.
- He reunites with Nick Nurse, who coached with Handy on Toronto’s 2018–19 staff, and with LeBron James, whom Handy worked with in Cleveland and Los Angeles.
- Handy is widely regarded as an elite player-development coach whose work with ballhandlers such as Kyrie Irving and Austin Reaves is expected to target skill growth for Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe.
- The hire is framed as a move to speed roster integration and on-court fit for a Sixers team pursuing immediate title contention, with coverage noting a team release had not been cited at the time of initial reports.