Kia Nurse began playing basketball at the age of four, and by the time she was seven years old, she was playing in a competitive league. Nurse attended St. Vincent de Paul Elementary School.
Nurse played basketball while attending St. Thomas More Catholic Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario. During her playing career, she helped the team win three consecutive OFSAA high school championships in 2011, 2012 and 2013. She played for the Hamilton Transway Club team, winning seven consecutive provincial championships.
Approximately 50 colleges and universities contacted Nurse to ask her to consider playing for their team.[citation needed] She initially narrowed down the list to four teams, Connecticut, Penn State, Indiana, and Kentucky, but eventually chose Connecticut. After signing her letter of intent, she revealed that she had recorded a goal of playing for Connecticut when she was in Grade 7.[3]
Professional career
WNBA
At the 2018 WNBA draft, Nurse was drafted by the New York Liberty in the first round as the tenth overall pick.[4] Nurse would join the Liberty alongside players such as Tina Charles and Epiphanny Prince. Nurse made her WNBA debut on May 20, 2018, scoring 17 points in an eventual 80–76 loss to the Chicago Sky.[5] In June 2018, Nurse scored 34 points, a season-high amongst WNBA rookies, in the Liberty's 87–81 overtime victory over the Indiana Fever.[6]
In July 2019, Nurse was named as a starter for the WNBA All-Star Game for the first time in her career.[7] Her selection made her just the third Canadian to play in the All-Star Game. Nurse was selected by and joined Team Delle Donne for the game. Nurse also participated in the Three-Point Contest but lost in the first round.
Nurse was traded to the Phoenix Mercury along with Megan Walker by the Liberty for the 2021 season in exchange for the Mercury's 2021 and 2022 1st round picks.[8] Nurse tore her ACL in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals against the Aces. This would cause her to miss the remaining postseason games.[9] The Mercury would go on to lose in the finals against the Chicago Sky. On February 5, 2022, the Mercury announced that they had re-signed Nurse for the 2022 season.[10] Nurse's injury would cause her to miss the entire 2022 season.[11]
Nurse was invited to join the national team, to play in the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship for Women, held in Xalapa, Mexico from September 21–28, 2013. She averaged ten points per game and helped the Canadian National team to a second place, silver medal finish. Canada faced Cuba in a preliminary round and won 53–40, but in the championship game, Cuba prevailed 79–71.[15][16][17][18]
Nurse played on the Canadian national team in the 2014 FIBA World Championship. The team lost to Australia in the quarterfinals, then beat France and China to finish in fifth place.[19] Nurse averaged almost 22 minutes per game at the point guard position, averaging almost seven points per game, fourth most on the roster while being the youngest player on the roster.[20]
Nurse was a member of the Canada women's national basketball team, which participated in basketball at the 2015 Pan American Games held in Toronto, Ontario July 10 to 26, 2015. Canada opened the preliminary rounds with an easy 101–38 win over Venezuela. The following day they beat Argentina 73–58. The final preliminary game was against Cuba; both teams were 2–0, so the winner would win the group. The game went down to the wire, with Canada eking out a 71–68 win.[21] Canada defeated Brazil in the semifinal, 91–63.[22] In front of a home crowd, the Canadians were able to take down the United States 81–73 and take home the gold medal. It was Canada's first gold medal in basketball in the Pan Am games. Nurse was the star for Canada with 33 points, hitting 11 of her 12 free-throw attempts and 10 of her 17 field-goal attempts, including two of three three-pointers.[23][24][25][26] Her performance led to her selection as the flag-bearer in the event's closing ceremonies.[27]
Nurse played for Canada at the 2015 FIBA Americas Women's Championship, a qualifying event held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in August 2015. Canada won the first three games, easily winning first place in the group for a spot in the semifinal against the second-place team in group B, Brazil. The semifinal game against Brazil was much closer. Canada led by only six points at halftime but gradually expanded the lead to end up with an 83–66 win and a spot in the gold-medal game.[28] The gold-medal game was a rematch with Cuba where Canada took home the win, 82–66. As the game wound down to the close, the crowd was chanting "Rio", "Rio", "Rio" in recognition of the fact that the win qualifies Canada for the Olympics in Rio in 2016. Nurse was the leading scorer for Canada with 20 points, and her overall performance earned her the MVP award for the entire event.[29][30]
