Raptors Coach Nick Nurse Had a Hilarious Cameo in CBC’s ‘Murdoch Mysteries’

Is there anything Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse can’t do? Between willing his team to back-to-back victories against some of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference over the last few days, Nurse quietly made a cameo in CBC period drama Murdoch Mysteries on Monday night.

Currently in its 15th season, the show featured Nurse playing a locker room attendant. He gave coaching tips to the main character, Detective Murdoch, even hilariously suggesting that he name his team “Raptors.” (Get it?) “Trust me,” Nurse says in the scene, donning a newsboy cap, glasses and a bowtie. “It’ll catch on one day.”

Though Nurse’s Great Depression drip led some to speculate he would be playing James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, in the role, the coach confirmed to reporters he would be nothing more than an extra. But what an extra!

Naturally, Twitter had a bit of fun with this one.

Though the CBC has been referring to the scene as Nurse’s “acting debut,” the NBA’s 2019-20 Coach of the Year is actually a more experienced thespian than they realize. Back in December 2020, Nurse made his official acting debut in Global’s comedy-drama series Private Eyes, playing himself in an episode.

“It’s not as easy as you’d think! You know, you’ve still got some lines that they want you to say and you gotta deliver them. [Laughs.] You’ve got to do it several times over and over,” he told Complex Canada about the role. “But they were good coaches and very nice, very nice to me. It was a lot of fun.”

With a couple shows under his belt, we think it’s time Nick took his talents to the big screen. Give this man his own film! Crouching Coach, Hidden Badass. It writes itself.