The three-time NBA champion reunites with James and Nick Nurse after spending last season with the Mavericks.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks over video with assistant coach Phil Handy before playing against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center.
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Posted
Friday,
August 21, 2026
6:06 pm
The Philadelphia 76ers have made an addition to their coaching staff, hiring Phil Handy as an assistant coach, according to a report from NBA Insider Marc Spears.
Handy has previous connections to multiple members of the Sixers’ organization, having served as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers for five seasons, four with LeBron James, as the team reached four NBA Finals, winning one.
After Cleveland, Handy joined Nick Nurse’s coaching staff for the Raptors 2018-19 championship before reuniting with James in Los Angeles as an assistant coach for the Lakers, who would go on to win a title in the same year. In LA, he was the front-of-the-bench assistant under then-head coach Frank Vogel.
Handy and the Lakers parted ways after the team dismissed head coach Darvin Ham in 2024. He would head to the Unrivaled basketball league as the head coach of Mist Basketball Club and returned to the NBA last season, joining Jason Kidd’s staff with the Dallas Mavericks as an assistant.
Keywords
Philadelphia 76ers,
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Phil Handy,
LeBron James,
Nick Nurse,
NBA,
Sixers coaching staff,
Philadelphia sports