Philadelphia 76ers Bring Doc Rivers On As New Head Coach

In a quick move, the Philadelphia 76ers hired Doc Rivers as the teams head coach Thursday evening.

The Clippers fired Doc Rivers, who was their head coach, Monday after the team gave up a 3-1 game lead in the Western Conference Semi-Final against the Denver Nuggets.

He thanked Clipper Nation for the fan support throughout the years.

https://twitter.com/DocRivers/status/1310693712524120067?s=20

The 76ers fired previous head coach Brett Brown on Aug. 24 after being swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Brown served as Philadelphia’s head coach for seven seasons. As coach, Brown led the team through a rebuild before making the playoffs each of the last three seasons.

Quick Hire

It didn’t take long for the Philadelphia 76ers to hire Doc Rivers as their head coach. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, it took just over 24 hours. The deal came just three days after the Clippers parted ways with Rivers.

After a rapid courtship and negotiation, Doc Rivers has reached agreement on a deal to become the next coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 1, 2020

According Wojnarowski, Sixers general manager Elton Brand reached out to Rivers and his agent on Monday to see what interest Rivers had in the teams head coaching vacancy. Rivers then flew to Philadelphia where Brand and the Sixers’ ownership met with Rivers on Wednesday. Both sides moved quickly towards making a deal.

Doc Rivers was on a plane from LA to Philly "within 24 hours of losing his job."@wojespn on why the 76ers were the best option for Rivers out of all the jobs available. pic.twitter.com/LzI8XtNBbr

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 2, 2020

Rivers contract is reportedly a five-year deal. No other details about the contract have been released.

Joel Embiid and other Philadelphia players expressed their excitement on working with their new coach.

Welcome to the city of Brotherly Love Coach @DocRivers !!!! Excited for the future and what we’re building here #PhillyForever

— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 1, 2020

Rivers Qualifications

During Rivers time in Los Angeles, he led the team to a 356-208 record, or a 63% win percentage. The teams record was fifth best in the NBA during that span, and the best for a team that failed to reach the Conference Finals.

Rivers job with the Sixers will be his fourth head coaching job in the NBA. First, Rivers coached the Orlando Magic from 1999-2003 before then coaching the Boston Celtics from 2004-13. He spent the last seven years coaching the Los Angeles Clippers. During his time with the Magic, Rivers won the NBA Coach of the Year in 2000.

Rivers now returns to the Eastern Conference, a place where he has found success in the past. He won an NBA Championship in his fourth season with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and appeared in another one in 2010. He coached the All-Star game in 2008 and 2010 when he led the Celtics to best record in the Eastern Conference.

Accepting the job with Philadelphia, Rivers now returns to the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division where he hopes to claim the divisional crown over his old team.

In addition to his 21 years of of head coaching experience, Rivers also has 14 years of experience playing in the NBA.

Audio in this Article is courtesy of ESPN and ABC.