The Philadelphia 76ers have dismissed coach Doc Rivers after their Eastern Conference Semifinals defeat to the Boston Celtics.
So far, the Sixers have been eliminated in the Eastern Conference semifinals for a third straight season.
“Doc is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer, and someone I respect immensely,” Daryl Morey, Sixers President of Basketball Operations, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We’re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise.
“After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship.”
The 76ers were thrashed by the Celtics in Game 7 on Sunday, losing 112-88 largely due to a poor performance from Joel Embiid and James Harden.
However, fans seem to blame Embiid and Harden as the cause of their early exit, not Rivers who has a 6-10 record in Game 7s.
Harden scored just nine points on 3-of-11 shooting to cap off a series in which he also posted 12, 16, 17, and 13 points in games, while Embiid, meanwhile, scored just 15 points.
According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Rivers had a 154-82 (.653) record in his three seasons, including 54 wins in 2022-23 — the franchise’s most since 2000-01. The Sixers were one of three teams in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Rivers, who delivered his 16th straight winning season as a head coach, lost for the 10th time in a Game 7, including five consecutively. The defeat to the Celtics was the ninth straight time that Rivers lost to reach the conference finals.
It is reported that Mike Budenholzer, Sam Cassell, Mike D’Antoni, Nick Nurse, Frank Vogel and Monty Williams, are been considered as a likely replacement to Doc Rivers, as Philadelphia joins the Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, and Detroit Pistons among teams with searching for a head-coach.
