76ers sacked head coach Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers has been fired after a humiliating Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics, as the team bounced out in the second round of the NBA playoffs for a third straight year.

Rivers is one of the most successful coaches in the NBA and had amassed a record of 154 wins and 82 losses in Philadelphia, coaching center Joel Embiid to his first Most Valuable Player honors this season.

After Monday’s gut-wrenching 112-88 defeat in Boston, he said he would stay, but acknowledged, “No one’s safe in our business.” Today, he was reminded of that the hard way.

“We’re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise,” the Sixers’ President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey said in a statement.

“After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship.”

Rivers is not alone: At the weekend the Phoenix Suns fired head coach Monty Williams – who won Coach of the Year in 2022 – after losing the conference semifinals for a second straight year.

Williams led Phoenix to the NBA Finals in the 2020-21 season, where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Per ESPN, the 76ers’ search for a new coach is expected to include Mike Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams.

Rivers, 61, is best known for coaching the 2007-08 Celtics team featuring Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen that won the NBA title.

The Celtics returned to the Finals two years later but lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers; they also made the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.

Rivers has not coached a team past the second round of the playoffs since then.

In 24 seasons as a head coach for the Orlando Magic (1999-04), Celtics (2004-13), Los Angeles Clippers (2013-20) and 76ers, Rivers has a 1,097-763 career record in the regular season and a 111-104 mark in the playoffs. He has not coached a sub-.500 team since 2006-07.

-Reuters