TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 06: Head coach Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
The Toronto Raptors tried to finally get over the hump for years under Dwane Casey, but LeBron James repeatedly swatted them away in the postseason. After trading for Kawhi Leonard and installing Nick Nurse as the head coach, the Raptors finally unlocked their true potential and became champions.
Before Nurse helped lead the Raptors to their first championship, he was a skinny guard for the University of Northern Iowa who would eventually embark upon a coaching career that spanned two decades before he ever got his first NBA gig.