Just What the Doc Ordered
By Shawn Stewart
Doc Rivers is making the 4 hour and 20-minute plane ride from Los Angeles to the City of Brotherly Love! If you are a Philadelphia sports fan, like me, this is some encouraging news. Doc Rivers has been named the head coach of the Philadelphia 76er's just three days after the Los Angeles Clippers decided to let him go. Doc Rivers compiled a record of 356-208 over seven seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, taking them to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs three different times. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news of the new hire for the 76er's. Rivers, 58, takes over for Brett Brown, who was fired by the 76er's after the team failed to get out of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs and were ultimately swept by the Boston Celtics, ironically the team that Doc Rivers won his only NBA title with as the head coach back in 2008. Rivers, who played his college ball at Marquette, also played 13 seasons in the NBA for several teams including the Atlanta Hawks (1983-1991), the Los Angeles Clippers (1991-1992), the New York Knicks (1992-1994), and the San Antonio Spurs (1994-1996). The Sixers will be River's 4th coaching job.
The Sixers quickly snatch Doc Rivers up off the market (Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)
Philadelphia is headlined by former top draft picks in Joel Embid and Ben Simmons, both of which were both All-Stars selections in 2020. The duo of Embiid and Simmons handed the Sixers to two straight trips to the Eastern Conference semifinals before this year's first-round exit. Simmons missed the 2020 postseason with a serious knee injury and neither Embiid nor the rest of the 76ers roster were able to supply enough clutch scoring spots against the Celtics. The Sixers were confident that they were ready to contend for their first championship in almost 40 years. Elton Brand, the Sixers General Manager, spent $180 million last offseason to re-sign Tobias Harris and nearly $100 million to sign free agent Center Al Horford away from their biggest rival, the Boston Celtics. However, the Sixers had very little success with Brown running the show. The longtime San Antonio Spurs assistant was let go from his contract that ran through the 2022 season. General Manager Elton Brand said this after he fired Brown, “I will evaluate the front office and consider more changes, but I do not plan to trade either of my two stars." This of course referring to both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
The Philadelphia 76er's have not played in the NBA Finals since 2001, where they lost 4 games to 1 against Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O' Neal, and head coach Phil Jackson. Remember in Game 1 when Allen Iverson hit the clutch 3 pointer and then nonchalantly stepped over Tyronn Lue? That is how long it has been Sixers fans. The head coach at the time for the Sixers was Larry Brown. The last time that the Sixers actually won an NBA Championship, you have to go back to 1983, which featured a team including two Hall of Famers in Julius Erving and Moses Malone. I think it is safe to say that the Sixers fans deserve a championship, but is Doc Rivers going to be the man to turn this once-proud franchise around? Only time will tell.
The Sixers have not had a lot of success at the head coach position since Larry Brown left in 2003. There have been a few coaches that have tried to come in and be as successful as Larry Brown, or even Billy Cunningham who was the head coach of the 1983 Championship team but none have seemed to have any lasting success. Doc Rivers has been a successful head coach in the NBA, but is he the answer to finally put the Sixers over the top and bring a championship back to the City of Brotherly Love? Only time will tell.
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