Mavericks assistant coach Phil Handy plans to leave Dallas to join the Sixers as an assistant under head coach Nick Nurse, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link).
Tony Jones of The Athletic confirms the news (via Twitter).
Handy, who was on Nurse’s staff in Toronto when the Raptors won the championship in 2019, is a former professional player who had stints in the CBA, Israel, France, England, Germany, Spain, Italy and Australia, per the National Basketball Coaches Association.
The veteran assistant started his NBA coaching career with the Lakers in 2011 and was hired by Cleveland a couple years later. His five-year stint with the Cavaliers included a 2016 title and three seasons with new 76ers forward LeBron James.
After one year in Toronto, Handy rejoined LeBron and the Lakers in 2019, having been a part of a third championship run in 2020. He parted ways with Los Angeles last offseason to join Jason Kidd‘s staff in Dallas.
Handy, who turns 55 next week, is close with Kyrie Irving and was initially expected to stay with the Mavericks under new head coach Dusty May. Instead, he’ll once again team up with Nurse and James.
According to Jones, Handy is highly regarded around the NBA and is viewed as one of the top skill development coaches in the league.