Nick Nurse meme

Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse inspires the NBA's new favourite meme

The Toronto Raptors dominated in Orlando last night with a 107-85 win against the Magic, pulling themselves up to a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series for the first time in franchise history.

It was a beautiful victory, and fans are thrilled with how Canada's only NBA team is performing in the playoffs so far this season — but it was Raptors head coach Nick Nurse who ultimately won the honour of MVP (most viral person.)

The 51-year-old Iowa native, who joined the Raps as an assistant coach in 2013, only just succeeded the beloved Dwane Casey as head coach last June.

It remains to be seen if his influence will finally help Toronto bring home a ring, but his sideline antics are perhaps even more entertaining than his predecessor's (which is saying a lot, as Casey has contributed more than his fair share of hilariousness to the NBA GIF archives.)

It all started with a three-second violation against point guard Fred VanVleet during the first quarter of Sunday night's away game.

Nurse was clearly shocked by the call — like, next-level bewildered to the point of letting his mouth hang open for a full 11 seconds.

The coach's reaction was captured on camera and went viral almost instantly, drawing comparisons to other well-known "jaw drop" GIFs on Twitter.

Several viewers set the clip to music, which only made it funnier.

Others joked about the "real" reason behind his stunned facial expression.

Nurse only found out that he'd been trending on Twitter during a post-game press conference.

"Were you aware that you were trending for your reaction to the three-second call in the first quarter?" asked a reporter, to which Nurse smiled and shook his head.

"I wasn't aware of that," said the coach. "Is trending a good thing?"

In this case, for a change, it is. 

Lead photo by

NBA on TNT


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Sports & Play

Toronto Raptors players wore some wild costumes at their Halloween bash

Toronto Maple Leafs Halloween party featured plenty of hilarious costumes

Here's why a woman ran onto the court at a Toronto Raptors game

Toronto Maple Leafs are now worth a billion dollars more than before

Toronto's largest indoor roller skating rink shuts down

Fans can now tour the Leafs and Raptors dressing rooms at Scotiabank Arena

Former Toronto Raptors coach lived in a hotel during his whole tenure with team

Toronto Maple Leafs fan tosses jersey on ice during disappointing loss