Doc Rivers

Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As an NBA point guard, Rivers was known for his defense, a trait that has carried over into his coaching.

Doc Rivers

Rivers coaching the Celtics in October 2007
Los Angeles Clippers
Position	Head coach
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1961-10-13) October 13, 1961 Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)[1]
Career information
High school	Proviso East (Maywood, Illinois)
College	Marquette (1980–1983)
NBA draft	1983 / Round: 2 / Pick: 31st overall
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career	1983–1996
Position	Point guard
Number	25
Coaching career	1999–present
Career history
As player:
1983–1991	Atlanta Hawks
1991–1992	Los Angeles Clippers
1992–1994	New York Knicks
1994–1996	San Antonio Spurs
As coach:
1999–2003	Orlando Magic
2004–2013	Boston Celtics
2013–present	Los Angeles Clippers
Career highlights and awards
As player: NBA All-Star (1988) J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1990) No. 31 retired by Marquette Golden Eagles USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (1982) Mr. Basketball USA (1980) As coach: NBA champion (2008) NBA Coach of the Year (2000) 2× NBA All-Star Game head coach (2008, 2011)
Career statistics
Points	9,377 (10.9 ppg)
Assists	4,889 (5.7 apg)
Steals	1,563 (1.8 spg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Representing  United States Basketball FIBA World Cup 1982 Colombia National team

Rivers (center) sits on the sidelines with assistant coaches Tom Thibodeau (right) and Armond Hill (left) in Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks.

Rivers at the championship parade of the 2008 NBA Champions Boston Celtics.

Playing career

Rivers in 2011

Rivers was a McDonald's All-American for Proviso East High School in the Chicago metropolitan area.[2] Rivers represented the United States with the national team in the 1982 FIBA World Championship, in which he led the team to the silver medal, despite missing the last shot in the final, which could have given the title to his team. After his third season at Marquette University, Rivers was drafted in the second round (31st overall[3]) of the 1983 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. He graduated from Marquette while completing course work as an NBA player. He spent the next seven seasons as a starter in Atlanta, assisting star Dominique Wilkins as the team found great regular season success. He averaged a double-double for the 1986–87 season with 12.8 points and 10.0 assists per game. Rivers later spent one year as a starter for the Los Angeles Clippers and two more for the New York Knicks, before finishing his career as a player for the San Antonio Spurs from 1994 to 1996.

Coaching career

Orlando Magic (1999–2003)

Rivers began his coaching career with the Orlando Magic in 1999, where he coached for more than four NBA seasons. Rivers won the Coach of the Year award in 2000 after his first year with the Magic. That season, he led the team that was picked to finish last in the league to a near playoff berth.

During the Magic's free agency spending spree in the summer of 2000, Doc Rivers had the opportunity to assemble the first "Big Three" team in the NBA, as the Magic were courting free agent Tim Duncan, who came close to signing with the Magic and teaming up with Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady. However, Tim Duncan re-signed with the San Antonio Spurs due to Rivers' strict policy of family members not being allowed to travel in the team's plane.[4]

He made the postseason in his next three years as coach, but was fired in 2003 after a 1–10 start to the season.

Boston Celtics (2004–2013)

After spending a year working as a commentator for the NBA on ABC (calling the 2004 Finals with Al Michaels), he was hired by the Boston Celtics as their head coach in 2004. During his first years with the Celtics, he was criticized by many in the media for his coaching style, most vociferously by Bill Simmons, who in 2006 publicly called for Rivers to be fired in his columns.

As a result of the Celtics' 109–93 victory over the New York Knicks on January 21, 2008, Rivers, as the coach of the team with the best winning percentage in the Eastern Conference, earned the honor to coach the East for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.[5] On June 17, 2008, Rivers won his first NBA Championship as a head coach after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.[6] The Celtics needed an NBA record 26 postseason games to win it. Rivers played for the team that held the previous record for most games played in a single postseason: the 1994 New York Knicks played 25 postseason games.

Rivers led the Celtics to the 2010 NBA Finals where they once again faced the Los Angeles Lakers and lost the series in seven games.

After deliberating between staying on the job and leaving the job and returning to spend more time with his family in Orlando, Rivers finally decided that he would honor the last year of his contract and return for the 2010–11 season.[7]

On May 13, 2011, after months of rumors that he would retire, ESPN reported that the Celtics and Rivers agreed upon a 5-year contract extension worth $35 million.[8][9]

On February 6, 2013, Rivers notched his 400th win with the Celtics in a 99–95 victory over the Toronto Raptors.[10]

Los Angeles Clippers (2013–present)

On June 25, 2013, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Rivers from the Celtics for an unprotected 2015 NBA first round draft pick. He also became the senior vice president of basketball operations on the team.[11] In his first season as their head coach, Rivers led the Clippers to a franchise-record 57 wins, garnering the 3rd seed in the Western conference. The 2014 NBA playoffs first round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors was marred when TMZ released an audiotape containing racially insensitive remarks made by the then-Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Though there was a possibility of the Clippers boycotting the series, they would play on, holding a silent protest by leaving their shooting jerseys at center court and obscuring the Clippers logo on their warm-up shirts. Rivers himself stated that he would not return to the Clippers if Sterling remained as owner the following season. NBA commissioner Adam Silver responded to the controversy by banning Sterling for life and compelling him to sell the team. After the team was sold to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer for $2 billion on August 12, 2014, Rivers remained with the Clippers.[12]

On June 16, 2014, the Clippers promoted Rivers to president of basketball operations in conjunction with his continuing head coaching duties. Although Dave Wohl was hired as general manager, Rivers had the final say in basketball matters.[13] On August 27, 2014, he signed a new five-year contract with the Clippers.[14]

On January 16, 2015, Rivers became the first NBA coach to coach his own son, Austin Rivers until June 26, 2018, when he was traded to the Washington Wizards for Marcin Gortat.

On August 4, 2017, Rivers gave up his post as president of basketball operations. However, he continued to split responsibility for basketball matters with executive vice president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank.[15] On May 23, 2018, Rivers and the Clippers agreed to a contract extension.[16]

On May 31, 2019, Rivers made comments on Kawhi Leonard during an appearance on ESPN, stating that "He is the most like Jordan that we've seen".[17] The Clippers were fined $50,000 due to Rivers' comments in violation of the league's anti-tampering rule.[18]

On November 8, 2019, Rivers earned his 900th win as a head coach after the Clippers won against the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.[19]

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1983–84	Atlanta	81	47	23.9	.462	.167	.785	2.7	3.9	1.6	.4	9.3
1984–85	Atlanta	69	58	30.8	.476	.417	.770	3.1	5.9	2.4	.8	14.1
1985–86	Atlanta	53	50	29.6	.474	.000	.608	3.1	8.4	2.3	.2	11.5
1986–87	Atlanta	82	82	31.6	.451	.190	.828	3.6	10.0	2.1	.4	12.8
1987–88	Atlanta	80	80	31.3	.453	.273	.758	4.6	9.3	1.8	.5	14.2
1988–89	Atlanta	76	76	32.4	.455	.347	.861	3.8	6.9	2.4	.5	13.6
1989–90	Atlanta	48	44	31.8	.454	.364	.812	4.2	5.5	2.4	.5	12.5
1990–91	Atlanta	79	79	32.7	.435	.336	.844	3.2	4.3	1.9	.6	15.2
1991–92	L.A. Clippers	59	25	28.1	.424	.283	.832	2.5	3.9	1.9	.3	10.9
1992–93	New York	77	45	24.5	.437	.317	.821	2.5	5.3	1.6	.1	7.8
1993–94	New York	19	19	26.3	.433	.365	.636	2.1	5.3	1.3	.3	7.5
1994–95	New York	3	0	15.7	.308	.600	.727	3.0	2.7	1.3	.0	6.3
1994–95	San Antonio	60	0	15.7	.360	.344	.732	1.7	2.6	1.0	.4	5.0
1995–96	San Antonio	78	0	15.8	.372	.343	.750	1.8	1.6	.9	.3	4.0
Career		864	605	27.3	.444	.328	.784	3.0	5.7	1.8	.4	10.9
All-Star		1	0	16.0	.500	–	.455	3.0	6.0	–	–	9.0

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1984	Atlanta	5	–	26.0	.500	.000	.878	2.0	3.2	2.4	.8	13.6
1986	Atlanta	9	9	29.1	.435	.500	.738	4.7	8.7	2.0	.0	12.7
1987	Atlanta	8	8	30.6	.383	–	.500	3.4	11.3	1.1	.4	7.8
1988	Atlanta	12	12	34.1	.511	.318	.907	4.9	9.6	2.1	.2	15.7
1989	Atlanta	5	5	38.2	.386	.316	.708	4.8	6.8	1.4	.4	13.4
1991	Atlanta	5	5	34.6	.469	.091	.895	4.0	3.0	1.0	.4	15.6
1992	L.A. Clippers	5	4	37.4	.446	.500	.815	3.8	4.2	1.2	.0	15.2
1993	New York	15	15	30.5	.453	.355	.767	2.6	5.7	1.9	.1	10.2
1995	San Antonio	15	0	21.2	.389	.370	.839	1.9	1.6	.9	.6	7.8
1996	San Antonio	2	0	10.0	.333	.500	–	.5	.0	.0	.0	1.5
Career		81	58	29.5	.446	.338	.767	3.3	5.9	1.5	.3	11.4

Head coaching record

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
Orlando	1999–00	82	41	41	.500	4th in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Orlando	2000–01	82	43	39	.524	4th in Atlantic	4	1	3	.250	Lost in First Round
Orlando	2001–02	82	44	38	.537	3rd in Atlantic	4	1	3	.250	Lost in First Round
Orlando	2002–03	82	42	40	.512	4th in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round
Orlando	2003–04	11	1	10	.091	(fired)	—	—	—	—	—
Boston	2004–05	82	45	37	.549	1st in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round
Boston	2005–06	82	33	49	.402	3rd in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Boston	2006–07	82	24	58	.293	5th in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Boston	2007–08	82	66	16	.805	1st in Atlantic	26	16	10	.615	Won NBA Championship
Boston	2008–09	82	62	20	.756	1st in Atlantic	14	7	7	.500	Lost in Conference Semifinals
Boston	2009–10	82	50	32	.610	1st in Atlantic	24	15	9	.625	Lost in NBA Finals
Boston	2010–11	82	56	26	.683	1st in Atlantic	9	5	4	.556	Lost in Conference Semifinals
Boston	2011–12	66	39	27	.591	1st in Atlantic	20	11	9	.550	Lost in Conference Finals
Boston	2012–13	81	41	40	.506	3rd in Atlantic	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
L.A. Clippers	2013–14	82	57	25	.695	1st in Pacific	13	6	7	.462	Lost in Conference Semifinals
L.A. Clippers	2014–15	82	56	26	.683	2nd in Pacific	14	7	7	.500	Lost in Conference Semifinals
L.A. Clippers	2015–16	82	53	29	.646	2nd in Pacific	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
L.A. Clippers	2016–17	82	51	31	.622	2nd in Pacific	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round
L.A. Clippers	2017–18	82	42	40	.512	2nd in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
L.A. Clippers	2018–19	82	48	34	.585	2nd in Pacific	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
Total		1552	894	658	.576		167	84	83	.503

Personal life

Rivers is the nephew of former NBA player Jim Brewer. He lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife Kristen; they have four children.[3] His oldest son Jeremiah played basketball at Georgetown University and Indiana University,[20] and has played in the NBA D-League for the Maine Red Claws. His daughter Callie played volleyball for the University of Florida [21] and is married to NBA player Seth Curry,[22][23] while his younger son Austin currently plays for the Houston Rockets. His youngest son, Spencer, is a guard who played for Winter Park High School and for UC Irvine.

Rivers is a cousin of former NBA guard Byron Irvin and former MLB outfielder Ken Singleton.[24]

Rivers was given his nickname of "Doc" by then-Marquette assistant coach Rick Majerus. Rivers attended a summer basketball camp wearing a "Dr. J" T-shirt. Majerus immediately called him "Doc" and the players at camp followed suit. The name has stuck ever since.[25]

Rivers has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder according to a personality test he took when he was coaching the Celtics.[26]

Other work

Rivers is also currently a member of the National Advisory Board for Positive Coaching Alliance, a national non-profit organization that helps student-athletes and their coaches.[27] Rivers has appeared in several videos for this organization, all of which can be found on the group's YouTube channel.[28]

See also

• List of National Basketball Association career steals leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most assists in a game
• List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game

References

1. "Doc Rivers". National Basketball Association. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
2. Mitchell, Fred (February 18, 2012). "Rivers reflects on stress son is under: Austin was high school phenom like his father, but Celtics coach says pressure much greater now". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
3. Doc Rivers Coaching Info Archived March 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine at NBA.com
4. https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2018/2/15/17018756/grant-hill-confirms-the-tim-duncan-doc-rivers-airplane-policy-story
5. "Doc Rivers to Coach East in 2008 All-Star Game". NBA.com. January 21, 2008. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2008.
6. Spears, Marc J. (June 18, 2008). "Ring it up!". Boston Globe.
7. Wojnarowski, Adrian (June 30, 2010). "Rivers returning to coach Celtics". Yahoo! Sports.
8. Doc Rivers agrees to 5-year extension with Boston Celtics – ESPN Boston. Sports.espn.go.com (May 14, 2011). Retrieved on April 20, 2012.
9. Rivers gets five-year extension as coach of Celtics Archived May 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. NBA.com (May 13, 2011). Retrieved on April 20, 2012.
10. "Celtics at Raptors". NBA.com.
11. Patten, Eric (June 25, 2013) "RIVERS HEADED TO L.A.".
12. "Doc Rivers won't return to Clippers under Donald Sterling, per report". SBNation.com (Vox Media). April 29, 2014
13. "CLIPPERS RESTRUCTURE BASKETBALL OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT". Los Angeles Clippers.
14. "Doc Rivers Agrees to Contract Through 2019 Season". Los Angeles Clippers. August 27, 2014
15. "Press Release: L.A. Clippers Announce Expansion of Leadership Team Through New Roles for Rivers, Frank". NBA.com. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
16. "L.A. Clippers, Doc Rivers, Agree to Contract Extension". NBA.com. May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
17. Youngmisuk, Ohm (May 31, 2019). "Clippers fined $50K for Rivers' Kawhi comments". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
18. "NBA fines Clippers $50,000 for Rivers' comments". NBA.com. May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
19. Harris, Beth (November 8, 2019). "Doc Rivers earns 900th career win as Los Angeles Clippers beat Portland Trail Blazers". Boston.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
20. Doc Rivers' son to transfer from Georgetown. Sports.espn.go.com (May 7, 2008). Retrieved on April 20, 2012.
21. Rivers flows through it – News – Archived December 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Gatorsports.com (December 6, 2007). Retrieved on April 20, 2012.
22. Dowd, Katie (September 14, 2019). "Seth Curry and Callie Rivers wed in Malibu ceremony". SFGate. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
23. Lifshutz, Hannah (February 16, 2019). "Seth Curry and Doc Rivers' Daughter Are Officially Engaged". Complex. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
24. – Doc Rivers. Insidehoops.com. Retrieved on April 20, 2012.
25. Doc Rivers Archived June 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Nba.com. Retrieved on May 1, 2011.
26. MacMullan, Jackie (August 22, 2018). "To medicate or not? The thorny mental health issue in the NBA". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
27. "National Advisory Board".
28. Positive Coaching Alliance's channel on YouTube

External links

• Doc Rivers Coaching Info at NBA.com
• databaseBasketball.com: Doc Rivers (as coach)
• databaseBasketball.com: Doc Rivers (as player)