Doc Rivers fired by Philadelphia 76ers after playoff exit

16 May 2023 , 15:24

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Doc Rivers has been fired by the Philadelphia 76ers. (Image: (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images))

The Philadelphia 76ers have fired head coach Doc Rivers in the aftermath of the NBA playoff elimination at the hands of the Boston Celtics.

The 76ers were bounced out of the playoffs in game seven of the Eastern Conference semi-finals at the TD Garden on Sunday, putting up a dismal performance in a 112-88 defeat with Celtics star Jayson Tatum plundering a record-breaking 51 points.

Change was inevitable in Philly after yet another galling playoff exit, with James Harden in particular coming under the microscope for his nine-point effort in game seven.

But Rivers is the man to pay the price three years into his tenure, according to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski, with the Sixers dismissing the 61-year-old on Tuesday.

Mike Budenholzer, fired by the Milwaukee Bucks after their playoff exit, and former Phoneix Suns head coach Monty Williams – who was dismissed at the weekend – are among the early contenders to replace Rivers, as well as Sam Cassell, Mike D'Antoni, Nick Nurse and Frank Vogel.

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Rivers took charge of the 76ers in 2020 and he led the team impressively through the regular season each year, finishing as the one-seed in the East in his first campaign followed by third and fourth-place finishes.

However, the team failed to realise its potential in the postseason, suffering three successive exits in the conference semi-finals.

This year's failure was particularly hard for fans to swallow, having led the Celtics 3-2 heading into a game six on their home floor, and they were ahead in that game in the dying stages only to let it slip through their fingers, sending the series back to Boston, where they wilted in a crackling atmosphere.

Doc Rivers' time as the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers is over after three seasons. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images))

Rivers won his one and only NBA title as a coach in 2008 with the Celtics, but the following 15 years have been a tale of play-off misery, losing eight times in conference semi-finals across stints with Boston, the Los Angeles Clippers and the 76ers.

He also lost the 2010 NBA finals with the Celtics, leading to questions about whether he is capable of navigating a team to a championship anymore, despite his stellar regular-season record.

Regardless, the three-time All-Star head coach could have options to make an immediate return to the league, with the Suns, the Bucks, the Toronto Raptors and the Detroit Pistons all looking for new head coaches.

The Houston Rockets filled their coaching vacancy on Monday after they agreed terms with former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka.

Sam Frost