Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers has had a helluva career as a coach. He has a career record of 1,043-735, he has a title on his resume, and he was a big reason for helping the Los Angeles Clippers develop a winning culture there.
Then he came to Philadelphia, and while he hasn’t been perfect, he has had a lot of success already in two seasons. He helped guide Philadelphia to the No. 1 seed in the 2021 playoffs for the first time in 20 years and then he led them to a 50-win season in the 2021-22 season despite a ton of adversity.
Bleacher Report put together a ranking of the top 10 coaches of the modern era and Rivers came in ranked fifth on the list:
He is a clear and direct communicator, and that has allowed him to connect with his locker room, even as he has changed locker rooms four times since 2000. But there are reasons players follow his lead. Reasons like: the 14 playoff trips he has led in the last 15 years; the 2008 title he delivered to the Boston Celtics; the 2010 conference championship he secured in Boston; the 16 postseason series wins he has overseen since 2008.
He is, simply put, a winner. He is one of 10 NBA coaches with 1,000-plus career victories, and his .510 playoff winning percentage ranks fifth-best among that uber-exclusive group.
Rivers has his flaws, but who doesn’t? For the Sixers to have success in the 2022-23 season, they will need everyone to play a part in it, but Rivers will be the one to lead this group again as they prepare for another title run.
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