Raptors add rising star Fab Flournoy to Nick Nurse's coaching staff

William Lou
·NBA reporter
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 22: Fab Flournoy of England collides with team mate John Amaechi during the men's basketball match between Australia and England at the Multi Purpose Stadium on day seven of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games March 22, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Fab Flournoy of England collides with teammate John Amaechi during the men's basketball match between Australia and England (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

The Toronto Raptors have added Newcastle coach Fab Flournoy to Nick Nurse’s staff, according to multiple reports.

Flournoy, 46, is a rising star in the European coaching ranks. The New York native played for Nurse for two years with the Birmingham Bullets, and had since faced Nurse in subsequent seasons as a player-coach. Flournoy has also played for Nurse with the English National team.

Over the past 17 seasons, Flournoy had been the face of the Newcastle Eagles. But with Nurse taking on the head coaching position with the Raptors last season, Flournoy had been around the organization in recent months, and has landed the vacancy left behind by former Raptors assistant Phil Handy, who received a promotion to join the Los Angeles Lakers this summer.

“I enjoyed the NBA Playoffs and the summer league campaign with Toronto in Las Vegas but returned to Newcastle with no thought in my mind that I’d be offered a full-time post,” Flournoy told Simon Rushworth of Chronicle Live.

“Having said that Nick has been plugging away at me for a few years — even before he became Raptors’ head coach — asking me when I was going to take on a new challenge.”

With Flournoy aboard, the Raptors are once again set in the coaching staff. Adrian Griffin, Nate Bjorkgren and Sergio Scariolo form the first row, while Jim Sann, Patrick Mutombo, and now Flournoy round out the second in Nurse’s staff.

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