Newcastle Eagles head coach Fabulous Flournoy has left the British Basketball League to become an assistant to Nick Nurse with NBA champions Toronto Raptors.

Flournoy will become an assistant to Raptors head coach Nurse, who was responsible for bringing him to the BBL in 1996.

Having spent his first four BBL seasons with the Birmingham Bullets, Flournoy moved to the Sheffield Sharks for one campaign, before joining the Eagles as player-coach in 2001, leading the team to seven championships.

📰 It is with sadness, but also with great joy that tonight we announce our 18 year player-coach @fabflournoy has made the huge step to join the @NBA's @Raptors. #AlwaysAnEagle https://t.co/pSFz44cvDi — Newcastle Eagles (@NewcastleEagle) September 3, 2019

"I knew this day would come at some point," said Flournoy, who has picked up 24 pieces of silverware in 17 years as Eagles' player-coach.

"I loved leading the team out at the new Community Arena earlier this year - it was such a proud moment for me and Paul. And in that respect, I felt we were only just getting started.

"But this unbelievable opportunity has come out of the blue and when I talked to Paul about the chance to move to the NBA he told me to grab it with both hands."

5:49 Highlights of Game 6 of the NBA Finals series between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors

In his debut season as an NBA head coach, Nurse led the Raptors to their first championship as they beat the Golden State Warriors in June.

The Raptors, who lost Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in free agency during the off-season, will begin the defence of their title on the opening night of the season on October 22.

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