List Of Players Coached By Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers coaching career started in 1999 with the Orlando Magic. He was the head coach for the franchise for more than four years and parted ways in 2003.

Rivers' time as a player started in 1983 after being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. After playing for more than a decade, he ended his career with the San Antonio Spurs. He ended his career with 9,377 career points and 4,889 assists and later transitioned into coaching.

Doc Rivers teams coached in his career are:

• Orlando Magic - 1999-2003
• Boston Celtics - 2004-2013
• Los Angeles Clippers - 2013-2020
• Philadelphia 76ers - 2020-2023

Orlando Magic

His tenure as the head coach for the Magic started with a .500 win-loss percentage. He had a 41-41 record and finished 4th in the Atlantic Division and could not qualify for the playoffs.

The following year, Rivers was named the NBA Coach of the Year (2000). He took the Magic into three consecutive playoffs in 2000-2002 but was eliminated in the first round in all three years.

In the 2003-2004 season, he coached the Orlando Magic for 11 games in which he managed to record a win in just 1 game. He was fired following the disappointing start. Since he was not hired immediately by any team, he worked as a commentator for NBA on NBC.

Boston Celtics

His next stint as a head coach came for the Boston Celtics after he was hired at the start of the 2004 season. His record after the first season with the Celtics was 45-37 and finished 1st in the division. It was his best season in that period of his career but was again knocked out in the first round of the playoffs.

He did not have the best of starts the following years and his style of play was not understood by many. He faced a lot of criticism and finished 3rd and 5th in the division in 2005 and 2006 respectively, failing to qualify for the playoffs.

The Celtics ended the season with a 24-58 record in the 2006-2007 season which was one of Rivers' worst records as a coach. The following year (2007-2008 season), a complete turn of events took place and Rivers recorded his best season of his entire coaching career.

He helped the Celtics achieve a 66-16 record with a .805 win-loss percentage and were 1st in the division. After winning 16 games in the playoffs, the Boston Celtics were crowned NBA champions and Doc Rivers earned his first NBA championship.

• 2008-2009 - Lost Conference Semifinals
• 2009-2010 - Lost NBA Finals
• 2010-2011 - Lost Conference Semifinals
• 2011-2012 - Lost Conference Finals
• 2012-2013 - Lost First Round

Los Angeles Clippers

Doc Rivers was now known for his coaching abilities and had established himself as one of the best in the league. The LA Clippers acquired Rivers in 2013 and was also given the post as the senior vice president of the basketball operation of the franchise.

His tenure with the LA Clippers can be said to be a successful one even though he did not manage to win a championship. In his very first season, they were division leaders and lost in the conference semifinals.

• 2014-2015 - Lost Conference Semifinals
• 2015-2016 - Lost First Round
• 2016-2017 - Lost First Round
• 2017-2018 - Did not qualify for the playoffs
• 2018-2019 - Lost First Round
• 2019-2020 - Lost Conference Semifinals

Philadelphia 76ers

After losing to the Denver Nuggets in the conference semifinals in September, Rivers decided to step down as head coach and parted ways with the Clippers. The following month, the 76ers hired Rivers as their head coach.

Doc Rivers coached the Philadelphia 76ers for three full seasons. He started coaching the franchise in 2020 and was fired in May 2023.

Rivers had a good start as a head coach for the 76ers and straightaway qualified for the postseason in the 2020-2021 season. He had a 49-23 record and also topped the Atlantic Division.

• 2020-2021 - Lost Conference Semifinals
• 2021-2022 - Lost Conference Semifinals
• 2022-2023 - Lost Conference Semifinals

There was something about losing the conference semifinals when Rivers was the head coach. In his career, he has recorded 8 losses at this particular stage.

After losing to his former team, the Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals (Game 7), Rivers was let go by the 76ers on May 16, 2023.

As of now, the veteran coach has not yet been hired by any of the teams and is up for grabs. In his coaching career, he may not have won many championships, yet he is regarded among the best in the sport.

The NBA released a list of the Top 15 best NBA coaches of all time in 2022 and Doc Rivers shared the list alongside Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich.

The list was released during the NBA 75th anniversary season and he has been recognized by the basketball community for his work as a coach. In his tenure as a head coach, he did not qualify for the playoffs in only 4 seasons out of the 23 full seasons he coached for.

Since Rivers' sacking in May, Nick Nurse has been hired as the head coach by the Philadelphia 76ers on June 1, 2023. He previously coached the Toronto Raptors with whom he won a NBA championship in 2019.

Doc Rivers has 1 NBA championship ring as a coach which he won with the Boston Celtics in 2008. It was his first and last ring as a head coach.

In addition to his championship ring, his .805 winning percentage was the best in the Eastern Conference and as a result, he was named head coach for the East at the 2008 All-Star Game. He further went on to become an All-Star Game head coach in 2011 and 2021 as well.

He came close to winning another ring in the 2009-2010 season with the Celtics but lost the NBA Finals against the same opponent that they beat in 2008, the Los Angeles Lakers.