Doc Rivers Fired as 76ers HC amid James Harden Rumors After Celtics Loss
Doc Rivers #DocRivers
The Philadelphia 76ers have fired head coach Doc Rivers after his three seasons with the team.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported the news Tuesday on the heels of the 76ers’ Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. In the wake of the defeat, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported Monday that “it would be hard” to see James Harden return to Philadelphia if Rivers were still in charge.
Wojnarowski added that Philadelphia’s coaching search will include Mike Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams.
Rivers arrived in Philadelphia after he stepped down as the Los Angeles Clippers coach in 2020, signing a five-year, $40 million contract.
That appeared to pay off right away as he led the 76ers to a 49-23 record in his first season, good enough for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, the Atlanta Hawks upset the 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Philadelphia fell in that same round one year later, and that was after a tougher regular season that ended with the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. Joel Embiid dominated that campaign en route to finishing as the NBA MVP runner-up, which helped Philadelphia find some success. But the Miami Heat ultimately dispatched the 76ers in six games.
The 2022-23 season’s exit in the semifinals marked the 22nd straight year that the team failed to make the third round.
Rivers sported the resume to lead Philadelphia to its first NBA title in four decades. For starters, he played in the NBA from 1983 to 1996. Three years after his retirement, the former guard became the head coach of the Orlando Magic. That kick-started a 24-year coaching career that also included stints with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers.
Nineteen of his teams made the playoffs, and one (the 2007-08 Boston Celtics) won the NBA championship. Rivers also guided the C’s to the 2009-10 NBA Finals, where they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, it hasn’t worked in Philly. Rivers is out, and now the 76ers have to find a coach who will be tasked with running an underperforming team that has the talent to be a championship contender.