The long-standing rumour was made official on Monday, as Canada Basketball announced Nick Nurse as their head coach of the Senior Men's National Team ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China.
Nurse takes over the program fresh off of leading the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever NBA championship.
“I’m looking forward to working with this talented group of young players, and to seeing what we can do on the competitive global basketball stage," Nurse said in a press release.
"I love the international game. I also see this as a real chance for me to learn from the world’s best, and for us to represent Canada with pride and distinction.”
Nurse does have international basketball experience, previously serving as an assistant coach with host Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics.
He also coached in the British Basketball League (BBL), winning the league championship twice (1996, 2000).
Canada Basketball also announced Gordon Herbert as Associate Head Coach and will be a member of Nurse's staff for the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Herbert, who was rumoured to have the head coaching job in April, coached the National Team to two wins during the second window of FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
He will coach the team at the FIBA AmeriCup 2021 Qualifiers, which is scheduled for November.
“I’m very excited to once again be involved with Canada Basketball," Herbert said in a release. "Rowan (Barrett) and Glen (Grunwald) both have a clear vision of where the program needs to go and the culture that is required. This is also a great opportunity for me to work alongside and learn from Nick Nurse.”
Since 2013, Herbert served as head coach of the German BBL club Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt. He also spent a brief time as a Raptors' assistant coach in 2008.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China gets under away Aug. 31-Sept. 15, 2019 and will feature 32 teams for the first time ever. 92 games will be played over 16 games in FIBA's flagship event.
Canada was selected into a "group of death" back in February, which features other basketball powers Lithuania and Australia — Senegal rounds out the four.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup will qualify seven teams directly for the following year's Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Canada must finish either first or second in the Americas zone to earn a direct berth.
