Whether she is hitting game-winning jumpers for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury or the NBL’s Canberra Capitals, or she’s delivering a 33-point performance in winning the gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games with Team Canada, or serving as the lead analyst for the NBA’s first ever all-female broadcast, Kia Nurse is making history on and off court while becoming the face of Canadian women’s basketball in the process.
The story of one of Canada’s brightest basketball stars begins in a sports-filled household in Hamilton, Ontario. Nurse’s parents, Richard and Cathy Nurse, were both athletes in their own right. Cathy played college basketball and Richard played in the CFL. Her cousin, Sarah, recently won an Olympic gold medal at the Beijing 2022 Winter games with Team Canada’s women’s hockey team. Her older brother, Darnell, has spent the past seven seasons playing for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. The sports connections don’t stop with her immediate family, either. Aunt Racquel played basketball at Syracuse University where she met, and later married, Donovan McNabb, best known for his time in Philadelphia, where he was a six-time Pro Bowl participant as the quarterback of the Eagles.
It’s no surprise to hear sports was a constant in Nurse’s childhood, although she’s quick to point out that participating in them was always a choice presented by mom and dad. “Having parents who played sports was really helpful just in the sense that they knew what it took and they knew the sacrifices and the accountability needed,” she said. “But I think they also understood what doors this could open for us if we wanted to do it. It was never ‘You have to play, you have to train.’ We always had the option.”
Along the way, Nurse also learned a few life lessons through sports, like accountability and having a persistent mindset. The one thing her parents always preached was the importance of always keeping her word. “There were days when I wanted to quit,” Nurse recalled. “My mom would say ‘Okay, quit, but finish off the season because you’ve committed to doing that.’” School always came before sports, and good grades became a prerequisite for participation on teams. Nurse’s older sister, Tamika, inspired her to pick up a basketball at the age of four.
After leading St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School to three consecutive OFSAA championships, Kia Nurse accepted an offer to play at the University of Connecticut, fulfilling the childhood dream she scribbled onto a vision board made in the seventh grade. Nurse’s success continued with the storied Huskies program, as she moved into the starting lineup in just her third game as a freshman. The six-foot guard was known for her smothering defence and endless energy on both ends of the floor, but she could also light the scoreboard up in a hurry. With a competitive fire that propelled everything she did on the floor, Nurse put in the work necessary and got the absolute most out of her talent during her four years in college. She won two national championships with the Huskies, and made it to the Final Four all four of her seasons in Connecticut.
In 2018, Nurse was selected 10th overall by the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Her dreams of becoming a pro player had finally come true.
“That was almost like a culmination of everything that I did from the age of four to 18,” she said. “Everything that went into it, the sacrifices of not going to my friend’s birthday parties or missing Easter with my family, I feel like they were worth it at that moment.”
In her second year with the Liberty, Nurse averaged 13.7 points and was named an All-Star starter. After three seasons in New York, Nurse was traded to the Phoenix Mercury and thrived in her new role immediately. At the height of her pro career, she suffered a difficult setback in the WNBA semifinals last season.
In the first minute of Game 4 against the Las Vegas Aces, Nurse went up for a layup on a fast break. Aces forward A’ja Wilson blocked the shot, and as soon as Nurse landed, she immediately grabbed her knee and yelled out in pain. Her season was over. She had torn her ACL, and would need surgery. One of the many lessons Nurse learned growing up was to finish what she started. Perhaps that was the most frustrating part about having to sit on the bench and cheer on her teammates as they eventually lost 3-1 to the Chicago Sky in the Finals.
”I think the hardest thing was just feeling like I wanted to go out there and help,” Nurse said. “I wanted to be able to help contribute to what we were trying to do and not being able to do that, it was hard. By the time [the Finals arrived], I was walking. I was on the bike. I rode the bike a lot. I was doing normal stuff, so mentally it was frustrating, because I felt normal. But I knew the moment that I went to take a jumper or cut that it wouldn’t work.”
Nurse remained positive as she entered the summer even though she was going into free agency with a major knee injury. There was unfinished business in Phoenix, where she had developed a connection with teammates and staff and fallen in love with the desert weather. Nurse wanted to return. The feeling was mutual. It didn’t take long for the Mercury to announce they had re-signed Nurse to a multi-year deal. Instead of a celebration, Nurse was back in the gym, continuing the long and arduous rehabilitation process so she’d be ready when she’s cleared to return to the court.
It was rare for Nurse’s entire family to be gathered together around the dinner table growing up. Kia’s dad was often shepherding her to basketball practice and games while mom took Darnell to hockey practice. Tamika lived on her own in university. Despite the busy schedules, the family still made it a priority to have a sit-down dinner together once a week. Those get-togethers aren’t as frequent today, with everyone scattered around the globe living in different time zones. In lieu of those dinners, the Nurse family has resorted to keeping in touch via a group chat which is often flooded with photos of Darnell’s son Aiden, born this past May. Despite the distance, everyone knows a supportive message is always nearby. “Everybody’s biggest cheerleader is a family member,” Nurse said.
Through basketball, her family has grown. As Nurse juggles her television broadcast responsibilities covering college and pro games for TSN, she spends much of her downtime in a gym working out. The group chat sent positive messages as Nurse started her rehab, but her extended basketball family was there every step along the way as well.
Nurse says the best piece of advice she received was from former teammate Kelsey Griffin, who went through a lengthy recovery herself after a serious ankle injury. Griffin was honest with Nurse and told her plainly that rehab was a terrible process.
“That was the one person who wasn’t trying to sugarcoat anything about what it was like,” Nurse said. “That was the best part about it, because I knew that it was going to suck. And I’ve never dealt with an injury that has this long of a recovery process yet. I’ve had way more good days, but I’ve had bad days, and for that, I’m very grateful.”
Nurse also found another unlikely source of motivation in her basketball family. The Phoenix Mercury shares their facilities with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. While Nurse recovered from her ACL surgery, she had access to all of the same pools, under-water equipment and training resources that the NBA team had. It was there where she found a cheering squad led by Suns head coach Monty Williams.
“Every single day for the first like, eight weeks [of my rehab], the coaches of the Suns, their locker room is on the same side as ours at the facility and they walked past our training room and would ask me how I was doing each day,” Nurse recalled. “The day when I walked in without my brace, I’d get a cheer. Then [for being upgraded to work in the pool], they were all clapping and cheering. Having that additional support and those extra cheerleaders made a huge difference, especially in the first few weeks where you feel like you can’t do anything. You don’t get it everywhere in the WNBA, but the Suns are the best allies for us, being there for us.”
The 26-year-old isn’t just amped to return to action with the Mercury, she’s also itching to get back on the court with her Team Canada family. Nurse has big goals when it comes to Canada’s senior women’s national team, where she is in her ninth year of representing the program. She has had many highlights over the years with the program, but she singles out the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto when Canada collected their first-ever gold in the event as being a definitive marker in Canadian women’s basketball history.
“That just was the first a-ha moment for Canadians, to see their women’s team on home soil, winning and finding success,” Nurse recalled. “It’s really cool to see the impact that that tournament had on a number of young women and obviously Canada Basketball, as they became mainstays in basketball conversations after that tournament.”
Nurse has represented Team Canada at the previous two summer Olympics. “It has just been such a ride and it’s been so many different teams and ups and downs, and I’ve been so grateful for every single opportunity,” she said. “This past Olympics, and moving forward, I’ve kind of been more in a leadership role. And I sit there and my gosh, I’m still maybe the third or fourth youngest on the team, and I think that always kind of throws me.”
The team currently ranks a program-best fourth in the FIBA World Rankings. Nurse has become a leader on the team and one of the faces of basketball in Canada. Up next for the senior women is September’s Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney, Australia. After that, the goal is to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and have a podium appearance.
That just was the first a-ha moment for Canadians, to see their women’s team on home soil, winning and finding success… It’s really cool to see the impact that that tournament had.
Nurse has represented Team Canada at the previous two summer Olympics. “It has just been such a ride and it’s been so many different teams and ups and downs, and I’ve been so grateful for every single opportunity,” she said. “This past Olympics, and moving forward, I’ve kind of been more in a leadership role. And I sit there and my gosh, I’m still maybe the third or fourth youngest on the team, and I think that always kind of throws me.”
The team currently ranks a program-best fourth in the FIBA World Rankings. Nurse has become a leader on the team and one of the faces of basketball in Canada. Up next for the senior women is September’s Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney, Australia. After that, the goal is to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and have a podium appearance.
Kia Nurse’s impact on basketball isn’t just taking place on the court. She is a role model for women on television as an analyst and she has continued to make basketball more accessible to girls who grow up dreaming of one day making it to the pros. When she was growing up, Nurse traveled around the United States to face the best competition available. Today, she is using her platform and stature in the basketball space to give back. Nurse is now in her fourth year with Kia Nurse Elite, the only Jordan Girls EYBL team in Canada. “We did this so that every young woman has the opportunity to play this game,” Nurse said.
“To be seen by coaches because we know that scholarships can change lives as well. So to go to the [United] States, be able to play, and be seen, and make some really good friends along the way.” Several girls who have gone through Nurse’s program are now playing with the Canadian national team. “I’m either getting old, or the whole country is getting older,“ Nurse joked.
She is hoping to continue playing a part in removing barriers and encouraging kids to enter and play in competitive sports. “It’s been incredible,” Nurse said. “We’re in year four now and it’s been so much fun to see all of the young talent that comes through our program. It’s always been about giving them as many opportunities as possible. We have the backing of Nike, we have the backing of Jordan and we make this as affordable for our kids as we can. Tangerine also comes in with some sponsorships every year, so everything that I do in terms of brands, I try to throw Kia Nurse Elite in there as well to ensure they have opportunities and they have the funding that they need to do things.”
As a television broadcaster, Nurse is also helping to pave the way for more opportunities for women in the media space. She has found a niche as an analyst and credits her parents’ honesty with critiquing her game growing up as an inspiration for her approach on TV. “My friends always tell me I’m brutally honest, but it’s being able to hear that, and being able to see that, and not have people have to walk around on eggshells,” Nurse explained. “That’s a big part of who I am, and I appreciate that. They were always very honest with [things like that] and I appreciate that because now I feel like I’m a very honest person.”
Whether she is a basketball player on the court or sitting in the analyst chair, Nurse is all about creating an equal playing field. There’s more work to be done in this regard, but as she continues her rehab process and looks forward to being back on the floor, Nurse credits her time away from the game with giving her an opportunity to reflect in a way that athletes rarely get to during the grind of the season.
“I’m very grateful to have as many highlights of my life as I do at 26,” she said. “There’s so much more that I want to continue to get to. It took me probably until this year after this injury to actually just write down all of the things that I have already done to actually be able to see it.”
There’s plenty left to accomplish on the court too. But in a brief moment of reflection, Nurse admits she has so many people, loved ones and strangers alike, who are watching her thrive and showing their support. It only motivates the face of Canadian women’s basketball to go even harder.
“My legacy, I hope, is that I left every single thing I had on the floor out there every single time that I stepped off of it,” Nurse said. “And that’s kind of how I’ve always played. I’ve been a hard-nosed, tough defender. If it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, I promise you, I’ll find a way to impact the game, even if it’s not on there. That’s kind of a nod to my parents. That’s who my parents have been my entire life, impactful in everything they were doing. And so that’s how they raised us to be.”
