Doc Rivers Secures First Interview After Parting Ways With 76ers

Doc Rivers may no longer be the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, but he isn’t expected to walk away from the game without considering other opportunities ahead of the 2023-2024 NBA season.

Not long after the Sixers parted ways with Rivers last week, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes noted that Rivers would be open to another opportunity to continue coaching if the situation is right for him.

Roughly a week later, Rivers is expected to join a shortened list of candidates for the Phoenix Suns’ head coaching job.

According to a report from ESPN, the Suns are “advancing” four candidates to a final round of interviews this week. Rivers is among the four names mentioned. In a report from The Athletic, a fifth candidate is also in the mix as the search winds down.

The Suns will be the first team to show interest in Rivers since he parted ways with Philadelphia. If and when Rivers lands another head coaching job in the NBA, it would become the fifth organization Rivers has joined since he started his coaching career in 1999.

After spending three seasons away from the game following a playing stint with the San Antonio Spurs, Rivers netted his first coaching gig with the Magic in 1999. He coached the Magic for five seasons. Amid season five, Rivers was fired after 11 games.

Rivers was hired to become the Boston Celtics’ head coach the following year. His stint in Boston lasted nine seasons.

During that time, the Celtics clinched a spot in the playoffs seven times. They came up short in the first round twice, made it to the Eastern Conference Finals three times, and advanced to the NBA Finals on two of those occasions. Rivers achieved his first and only NBA Finals win during the 2007-2008 NBA season.

After a long stint with the Celtics, Rivers was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. He coached the Clippers for seven seasons. In only one of those years, the Clippers missed the playoffs. While Los Angeles found tons of regular-season success under Rivers’ management, they struggled to make it out of the second round during that stint.

Unfortunately, that was the case during Rivers’ short-live Sixers stint as well. After spending seven seasons in LA, Rivers moved quickly on landing with the 76ers. Although he considered stepping away for a season, the Sixers hired Rivers following the seven-year Brett Brown era.

In three seasons, Rivers’ Sixers made the playoffs each time. While they managed to get beyond the first round every time, the Sixers couldn’t get over the second-round hump, which has been a common theme over the last six seasons.

During Philadelphia’s 2023 playoff run, they led the Celtics 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. After dropping Games 6 and 7, the Sixers decided to move on from Rivers two seasons early and have fired up a search for his replacement.

The 76ers will consider six candidates, including Nick Nurse, Sam Cassell, Frank Vogel, Monty Williams, Mike Budenholzer, and Mike D’Antoni. So far, Nurse has been rumored to be on the schedule for an interview, while Vogel completed his on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Rivers will secure his first interview this week since becoming available for the first time in three seasons. Rivers joins a list of candidates for Phoenix that includes Nurse, Vogel, Kevin Young, and Jordi Fernandez.