NBA PLAYOFFS
Why did the Philadelphia 76ers fire Doc Rivers after three seasons?
The Philadelphia 76ers have terminated the contract of their head coach, Doc Rivers, following his three-year tenure with the team.
In 2020, Doc Rivers was appointed as the head coach of the 76ers. Although his time with the team was thriving, the Sixers faced ongoing challenges during the postseason and were unable to progress beyond the second round of the playoffs. While in Philadelphia, the coach had a playoff record of 20 wins and 15 losses.
Rivers has coached four NBA teams and has an impressive regular-season record of 1,097-763 over 23 years. He achieved great success in the past by winning the 2008 NBA title with the Boston Celtics, but unfortunately, he has experienced some setbacks as a head coach, losing five consecutive Game 7s.
Why did the Sixers decide to cut ties with Doc Rivers?
This season, after gaining a 3-2 lead over the Boston Celtics in the second round, the Sixers failed to finish them out in Game 6 and were blasted out in Game 7, where Jayson Tatum scored a record 51 points. Rivers’ tenure in Philadelphia seemed to be coming to an end after that playoff blunder.
76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said this Tuesday following the firing of the legendary coach, “Doc is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer, and someone I respect immensely.” He continued on, “We’re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise. 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.”