Nick Nurse and the Philadelphia 76ers have now positioned themselves at the center of the NBA world, as they shocked everyone by agreeing to a two-year, $8 million contract with the legendary LeBron James.
While James coming to Philadelphia makes this team as viable a championship contender as any team in the league, this team will face some hurdles. In a cruel twist of fate, one of the biggest obstacles to a ring may be the title-winning coach roaming the sidelines.
As good a coach as Nurse has been in his career, he has often run into trouble by leaning too heavily on his starters for heavy minutes. With James as old as he is and the bench quite thin, the 76ers need to avoid falling into this trap once again.
76ers coach Nick Nurse must manage LeBron James' minutes better in 2026
The starting lineup of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in the backcourt, James and Jaylen Brown as the nominal forwards, and Joel Embiid at center seems to be set in stone. The bench rotation will likely consist of free agent signings Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons, first-round pick LaBaron Philon, and big man Adem Bona.
What undid Nurse at the end of his tenure with the Toronto Raptors (apart from not having Kawhi Leonard) was his inability to get quality bench play and manage his starters' minutes. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet would play almost 40 minutes per night often, which led to injuries and late-season exhaustion.
Nurse's championship ring can alleviate some of the concerns about his style of coaching, but his style could put as much stress on his stars' bodies as possible. With the bench looking as thin as it is, Nurse might be even more tempted to ride his meal tickets until the proverbial wheels fall off.
James' longevity is breathtaking, but he is still 41 years old. Both he and Embiid will need to be managed carefully if they are going to be healthy by April and May, and that could lead to an already thin roster getting stretched to a breaking point. One injury could be enough to undo everything.
If Nurse doesn't realize that he can't continue his taxing style of rotation management, James' talent and great fit alongside scorers like Brown, Maxey, and Embiid will all be for nothing. Nurse's stubbornness (or lack of same) could be the difference between a top-three seed and fighting to escape the play-in.
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