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.)
Nick Nurse is a legend. He really held this face for 11 seconds. pic.twitter.com/3U5aGybxnV
— Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) April 21, 2019
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.)
Congrats Nick Nurse you are now a meme #TORvsORL #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/IoA1NMtg6k
— Mason (@MLGmason372) April 21, 2019
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.
Nick Nurse mic'd up 😂 (probably) 🔊⬆️ pic.twitter.com/M1FNyhg6oS
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 21, 2019
The coach's reaction was captured on camera and went viral almost instantly, drawing comparisons to other well-known "jaw drop" GIFs on Twitter.
— UptownBrown (@pbrownpbrown) April 22, 2019
Several viewers set the clip to music, which only made it funnier.
aaahhhh ahhh ah ah ah ah ah ahhhhhhh ah ah ah ah ah ahhhhhhhhhh pic.twitter.com/1WrWw9WctT
— Becca Laurie (@imbeccable) April 22, 2019
Others joked about the "real" reason behind his stunned facial expression.
When they told Nick Nurse they get to go to Disney world if they win tonight. pic.twitter.com/yTq19IhJO5
— Dave Stein (@mixproducerdave) April 21, 2019
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?"
When you realize you're trending on twitter 😂 pic.twitter.com/KWbkBT723R
— Yahoo Sports Canada (@YahooCASports) April 22, 2019
In this case, for a change, it is.
