Namely, the 76ers are turning to another championship-winning coach to try and get them to the NBA Finals again. Former Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse has been hired as Philadelphia’s coach. The team confirmed the NBA betting move reported just days earlier. Thus, the Sixers remain all-in with their championship pursuits by choosing Nurse as their new coach. Philadelphia seeks to end more than two decades of championship failure. Since 2001, Philadelphia hasn’t reached the NBA Finals. Also, the 76ers haven’t won a title since the 1982-83 season.
Philadelphia 76ers Future Betting
Philadelphia 76ers CashBet Odds: +1100 to win the 2024 NBA Championship
2023-24 Philadelphia 76ers CashBet Wagering Analysis
At the onset, when the odds opened, the Sixers were in a familiar spot. Philadelphia was near the top of the 2024 best sportsbook online championship futures market. But just outside of the top five. Following the hiring of Nick Nurse as their new head coach, the needle didn’t at all once the news broke. The Sixers still have the seventh-best odds of winning the 2024 NBA title. In fact, some sportsbooks had their championship odds lowered.
Specifically, most sportsbooks had the Sixers at 11/1, Betting on NBA odds. Following the news that the San Antonio Spurs clinched the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft for the sixth-best odds. Now those odds are 13/1, the seventh-best odds behind the Nuggets (+500), Celtics (+550), Bucks (+650), Suns (+850), Lakers (+1000), and Warriors (+1200).
Nurse Embraces New Role with Legacy Franchise
First, Nurse said he was honored to be named head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, a storied franchise in a tradition-rich city. Also, he gushed the 76ers coaching job is an incredible opportunity. Additionally, Nurse said he enjoyed coaching Toronto against the 76ers over the last five years. Now, he looks forward to coaching the Sixers and doing his part to deliver for this tremendous fanbase.
Nurse and Embiid Must Reset Relationship
Once upon a time, Joel Embiid and the 76ers battled in a pro-basketball-betting playoff game with the Raptors in 2022. Then, Philadelphia’s All-Star Center barked at Nurse to stop whining about foul calls.
Following that, Embiid’s NBA gambling beef with Nurse didn’t end in the playoffs. After the two-time NBA scoring champion was held to 28 points in a 2022 regular-season game, Embiid charged the Raptors didn’t care about winning. However, nothing could go wrong this season. The 76ers didn’t even play the Raptors in the playoffs.
Yet, when Brooklyn frustrated Embiid in a first-round series, the league MVP complained the Nets took the Nick Nurse route of begging for free throws and calling out the referees.
Previously, Nurse led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship. Following a dramatic win over Embiid and the 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Concurrently, the 76ers haven’t won a title in 40 years. And they haven’t advanced past the second round since 2001.
Nurse will replace Doc Rivers, who was fired after he led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind NBA MVP Embiid. Yet Philadelphia again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference Finals. Rivers led the Boston Celtics to a title in 2008, And then Boston made another Finals trip in 2010. But he couldn’t get the Sixers to that level.
Most important of all, the 76ers held a 3-2 semifinal series lead against Boston. However, they dropped Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road.
The 76ers still have to decide if they will try to bring back James Harden. In turn, Harden is expected to decline his contract’s $35.6 million option and become a free agent. But making a move for a championship-winning coach like Nurse shows the franchise is still all-in as it goes in for a championship with Embiid still in his prime.
