- Doc Rivers
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Doc Rivers 
Head Coach Personal information Date of birth October 13, 1961 Place of birth 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:
As coach:
- NBA Champion (2008)
- NBA Coach of the Year (2000)
- 2× NBA All-Star Game 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 NBA.com Stats at Basketball-Reference.com MedalsCompetitor for 
United StatesBasketball 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.
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.
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Playing career
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[1]) 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.[2] On June 17, 2008, Rivers won his first NBA Championship as a head coach,[3] 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.[4]
On May 13th, 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.[5][6]
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.[1] His oldest son Jeremiah played basketball for Georgetown University before transferring to play for Indiana University,[7] while his daughter Callie played volleyball for the University of Florida.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10]
Rivers also hosts a celebrity golf tournament each year benefiting Shepherd's Hope, a non-profit organization in Orlando, Florida.
Head coaching record
Legend Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L% Win-loss % Post season PG Games coached PW Games won PL Games lost PW–L% Win-loss % 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 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
References
- ^ a b Doc Rivers Coaching Info at NBA.com
- ^ "Doc Rivers to Coach East in 2008 All-Star Game". NBA.com. January 21, 2008. http://www.nba.com/news/rivers_as_080121.html.
- ^ Spears, Marc J. (June 18, 2008). "Ring it up!". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/06/18/ring_it_up/?page=full.
- ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian (June 30, 2010). "Rivers returning to coach Celtics". Yahoo! Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-riversceltics063010&print=1.
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=6540602
- ^ http://www.nba.com/2011/news/05/13/rivers-contract-celtics.ap/index.html
- ^ Doc Rivers' son to transfer from Georgetown
- ^ Rivers flows through it – News – GatorSports.com
- ^ InsideHoops.com – Doc Rivers
- ^ Doc Rivers. Nba.com. Retrieved on 2011-05-01.
External links
- Doc Rivers Coaching Info at NBA.com
- databaseBasketball.com: Doc Rivers (as coach)
- databaseBasketball.com: Doc Rivers (as player)
Categories:- 1961 births
- Living people
- African American basketball coaches
- African American basketball players
- American basketball coaches
- American basketball players
- Atlanta Hawks draft picks
- Atlanta Hawks players
- Basketball players from Illinois
- Boston Celtics head coaches
- Los Angeles Clippers players
- Male basketball guards
- Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball players
- McDonald's High School All-Americans
- National Basketball Association broadcasters
- National Basketball Association head coaches
- New York Knicks players
- Orlando Magic head coaches
- Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
- People from Chicago, Illinois
- People from Winter Park, Florida
- Point guards
- San Antonio Spurs players
- United States men's national basketball team members
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