Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers

Boston Celtics
Head Coach
Personal information
Born	October 13, 1961 (1961-10-13) Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
High school	Proviso East
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
College	Marquette (1980–1983)
NBA Draft	1983 / Round: 2 / Pick: 31st overall
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Pro career	1983–1996
League	NBA
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:
1999–2004	Orlando Magic
2004–present	Boston Celtics
Career highlights and awards
As player: NBA All-Star (1988) J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (1990) FIBA World Championship MVP (1982) As coach: NBA Champion (2008) NBA Coach of the Year (2000) 2× NBA All-Star Game head coach (2008, 2011)
Career NBA 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 Competitor for United States Basketball FIBA World Championship Silver 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.

Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is a former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the NBA's Boston Celtics. Rivers was known for his defense while playing in the NBA. His skills as floor general and point guard helped him transition into a coach following his playing career.

Playing career

Rivers was a McDonald's All-American for Proviso East High School in the Chicago metropolitan area. Rivers represented the United States with the national team in the 1982 FIBA World Championship, in which he was selected as the tournament MVP, despite missing the last shot in the final which could have given the title to his team. After graduating from Marquette University, Rivers was drafted in the second round (31st overall) of the 1983 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. 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 bench player for the San Antonio Spurs.

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. He made the post-season in his next three years as coach, but was fired in 2003 after a disastrous start to the season.

Boston Celtics (2004–present)

After spending a year working as a commentator for the NBA on ABC (calling the 2004 Finals with Al Michaels), he took over the Boston Celtics coaching position in 2004. During his first years with the Celtics, he was criticized by many in the media for his coaching style, most vociferously by ESPN's 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. On June 17, 2008, Rivers won his first NBA Championship as a head coach, although the Celtics needed an NBA record 26 post-season games to win it. By a strange twist of fate, Rivers played for the team that held the previous record for most games played in a single post-season: the 1994 New York Knicks played 25 post-season games.

After deliberating between 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.

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.

Personal

Rivers is the nephew of former NBA player Jim Brewer. He lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife Kristen Rivers and their four children. His oldest son Jeremiah played basketball for Georgetown University before transferring to play for Indiana University, while his daughter Callie played volleyball for the University of Florida. Rivers also has a younger son, Austin Rivers, who at 6'4" plays guard at Duke University. Doc Rivers is the cousin of former NBA guard Byron Irvin and former MLB outfielder Ken Singleton.

Rivers was given his nickname 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.

Head coaching record

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
ORL	1999–00	82	41	41	.500	4th in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
ORL	2000–01	82	43	39	.524	4th in Atlantic	4	1	3	.250	Lost in First Round
ORL	2001–02	82	44	38	.537	3rd in Atlantic	4	1	3	.250	Lost in First Round
ORL	2002–03	82	42	40	.512	4th in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round
ORL	2003–04	11	1	10	.091	(fired)	—	—	—	—	—
BOS	2004–05	82	45	37	.549	1st in Atlantic	7	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round
BOS	2005–06	82	33	49	.402	3rd in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
BOS	2006–07	82	24	58	.293	5th in Atlantic	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
BOS	2007–08	82	66	16	.805	1st in Atlantic	26	16	10	.615	Won NBA Championship
BOS	2008–09	82	62	20	.756	1st in Atlantic	14	7	7	.500	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
BOS	2009–10	82	50	32	.610	1st in Atlantic	24	15	9	.625	Lost in NBA Finals
BOS	2010–11	82	56	26	.683	1st in Atlantic	9	5	4	.556	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Total		913	507	406	.555		102	56	46	.549

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win-loss  %
Post season	PG	Playoff Games	PW	Playoff Wins	PL	Playoff Losses	PW–L %	Playoff Win-loss  %

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

External links

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