Nick Nurse rose to NBA fame after he helped the Toronto Raptors win their maiden championship in 2019. It wasn’t just that. He was influential in stopping the Golden State Warriors‘ dynasty run, as they were chasing a three-peat. Moreover, he took over the Philadelphia 76ers‘ leadership and has a lot to expectations set around him. Despite the chaos involved in his stress involved in his stressful job, Nurse seems to handle it effortlessly. Well, all we can say is thanks to his family.

No, we’re not going to bore you by saying that he had a supportive family, and they always had his back. Technically, the Nurse’s family provided him with all of this, but there’s something special about his family that has influenced his career on the court. In his book,  “Rapture” by Nick Nurse with Michael Sokolove, Nurse has written about his father, Richard, a 6-foot tall, well-built man during his athletic prime. Sports ran in his alongside his 8 siblings. Yes, you read it right. Nurse was the youngest of them all.

Moreover, the sport in the line didn’t end with his blood relations. It carried with his life partner as well. Nick Nurse met Roberta, a former star college volleyball player in 2012, and married her in 2015. Since then, the couple has been together and also gave birth to two sons, Leo and Rocky Levi, born in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Let’s find out more about Roberta Nurse, a journey from a volleyball star to an entrepreneur.

Who is Nick Nurse’s wife? What are her volleyball exploits?

Roberta Santos was born in Recife, Brazil, in 1985, but she spent most of her youth on American soil. She completed all her higher education in the US and this is when she began her journey as an amateur volleyball player. She picked up the sport at the Hutchinson Community College. And immediately got the hang of it, securing herself a spot in Second Team All-American honor, First Team All-Region, and First Team All-Conference. Above all, she also led the team for school records for most assists, recording 1608 assists.

Following that, she pursued her bachelor’s degree at Florida Gulf Coast University, studying resort and hospitality management. The volleyball dream didn’t stop here, as she donned the Eagles’ thread. Moreover, Roberta continued to collect accolades. In her junior year, she topped the season, recording 253 kills, 75 blocks, 46 aces, and 626 assists. This herculean effort fetched her First Team All-Atlantic Sun honors, and 3x MVPs in various tournaments.

Roberta’s volleyball hunger didn’t subside easily, as she continued to excel in his senior year as well, once again fetching accolades. She collected First Team All-Atlantic Sun selection and A-Sun All-Academic honors. After her undergraduate, the volleyball sensation pursued a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Despite her commitment to education, Roberta managed to satisfy her passion for sports. She served as the assistant coach for the university’s Ocelots volleyball team until 2014. She took care of the team’s travel planning and recruitment. Moreover, five seasons after completing her master’s degree in 2010, Winthrop University’s women’s volleyball squad hired her assistant coach. Nevertheless, Roberta’s coaching career lasted only till 2016, as per her LinkedIn. 

What did Roberta Nurse do after her coaching career?

She gave birth to her son Leo in 2017 and then Levi in 2019. So, it’s quite understandable that Mrs. Nurse may have shifted her focus toward her small family. However, that isn’t the only case. The star volleyball player’s LinkedIn also says that Roberta has taken her career in the direction of entrepreneurship in Des Moines, Iowa.

Nevertheless, she also got the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her family during the pandemic. Speaking of the time spent together, Nick Nurse said, “With the pandemic, we stayed in Toronto the whole time. Roberta sneaks down here a little more than I do, maybe when I take a West Coast road trip. She’ll come down for 10-12 days or something like that. Most of her friends that she played volleyball with at Florida Gulf Coast are also living in the area, so it’s a nice situation for us.”

Notably, Roberta was in attendance during Nick Nurse’s emotional moment when he won the 2019 NBA Champion. It was the same season when he lost his mother, Marcella Nurse. With a wife, who herself has coaching experience, Nurse couldn’t have asked for a better life partner, who can understand the difficulties in the business. Importantly, on the personal side, Roberta has kept a low profile as she had put her IG profile in private. We can share what her IG reads, and it’s very wholesome – Philadelphia, PA. Former Volleyball Athlete and Coach, Boy mom, Wife, Fitness Enthusiast, Sports Fan, Travel Lover.

Can Roberta and Nick have yet another special year, as the Sixers have increased their odds of winning the championship again? Let us know in the comments below.