Doc Rivers gives Championship Advice to Colts: "You cannot take it for granted"
There are only six coaches in the NBA that have won NBA Championships, and Doc Rivers is one of them.
Rivers has found himself at the forefront of being a virtual coach, giving advice to other coaches in the sporting world. His most recent pupils - the Indianapolis Colts.
Recently, the Colts had Doc Rivers as a special guest to deliver championship advice to both Colts players and coaching staff.
Via Colts.com:
"I don't think people understand that … I think people think champions don't get hit. Like, you know, I always use boxing, because boxing, for whatever reason, my dad was a big boxing fan, and so I grew up watching boxing matches, and the biggest misnomer is that champions only hit. It's just not true. Champions get hit all the time. And then it comes to a point — how many times are you willing to get hit and keep moving forward and still punch, so you can win? That's what it's gonna come down to: you are going to get hit. You just are. Alright? But you have to be willing to take the punches, you have to be willing to keep moving forward and keep going."
It's a good reminder from Rivers, because fans tend to forget the struggle of winning a championship. Yes, the Golden State Warriors may have trounced the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they nearly lost to the Houston Rockets in the process. The Warriors were down 3-2, and took the Rockets' punch. In order to win, sometimes a team needs to go through some adversity. It's what the Lob City Clippers couldn't do.
"Let me tell you: like, I was 0-for-13 as a player in trying to win a title. Every year — every year — I wanted to win. But when I look back on my career, of those 13 years, realistically — realistically — I had two chances. Two. Out of 13. Now, some of these guys are lucky; you know, they get with the right group, right team. But I literally had two chances of my 13: once with the Knicks — you just saw that last Sunday on Last Dance; I hated that episode, by the way, because we were up 2-0 on the Bulls. We were the only time (Michael) Jordan's been down 2-0, was against us, with the Knicks. And then we have that four-day break where the media is (berating) him with the gambling stuff, and then they came back and beat us. And then I had one year with the Spurs where I thought, 'You know what? We could win it.' And we lost to the Rockets in a Game 7 to go to the Finals. So you don't get many chances, men. And I'm telling you guys: if you're on the team — and I hear a lot about you guys this year; like you guys are one of the favorites this year — don't think it's gonna happen next year. You better go for it now. Because when you've got a chance, you have a chance."
The reminder of "no guarantees" is something Clipper fans are all too familiar with. Despite having a core of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, the team only advanced to the second round three out of six years. The Clippers were plagued by injuries every single playoff run except one, and only had two legitimate chances at winning a championship. When they had a chance, that was it. Rivers finished his speech by reminding the Colts of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"I'm going to end with this … I don't know if you remember the Oklahoma Thunder, when they had Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, James Harden, (Serge) Ibaka, they lost to Miami in the Finals. And I remember in that last game Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen were saying, 'Well, it's a tough loss for Oklahoma, but they'll be back here every year.' They've never been back. You cannot take it for granted."
The Oklahoma City Thunder were supposed to be in the finals every single year. Instead, Kevin Durant was hurt one year, Russell Westbrook was hurt another year, and Serge Ibaka was hurt another year. They only had two realistic chances at winning an NBA Championship. A team may be healthy in the regular season, but there are no guarantees in the playoffs. Take advantage of every opportunity.
