PHILADELPHIA >> The Philadelphia 76ers went all-in with their NBA championship pursuit on Monday, selecting veteran Nick Nurse as their new coach to try to win the franchise’s first title since 1983.

The 76ers hired Nurse, 55, following his exit last month from Toronto Raptors, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the move.

Nurse led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship over the Warriors as they beat Joel Embiid and the 76ers in Game 7 of the the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Nurse will replace Doc Rivers, who was fired after he led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind NBA MVP Embiid but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference finals.

The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road.

The 76ers still have to decide if they will try to bring back veteran James Harden, but making a move for a championship-winning coach like Nurse shows the franchise is still all in as it goes for its first title in 40 years.

Nurse went 227-163 in his five seasons as coach in Toronto, where his .582 winning percentage ranks as the best of any coach in Raptors history. He also spent five years as an assistant to former Raptors coach Dwane Casey before taking over the top job.

Nurse played at Northern Iowa, then started his coaching career there as an assistant. He wound up becoming a head coach at Grand View University when he was just 23. He coached in Belgium and Britain — winning a pair of British Basketball League titles as a coach in Birmingham in 1996 and London in 2000 — then got a couple of titles in what is now called the G League.