Clippers coach Doc Rivers admits he 'walked away' from Celtics
Doc Rivers has a 601-481 (.555) record in 15 NBA seasons as a head coach. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers admitted in a radio interview that he walked away from his old team the Boston Celtics.
Rivers will return to Boston when the Clippers play the Celtics on Thursday.
Rivers went on CBS Radio Boston to discuss his departure from the team he helped lead to two NBA Finals appearances and one championship. Rivers even signed a five-year extension in 2011 to stay with the team - only to depart two years later.
“I did at the end of the day,” Rivers admitted. “You make choices in your life, it happens… It was a very difficult decision for me to make; whether to walk away and sit a couple of years, which was another way I was leaning, or if the right job presented itself to walk away and do that.
“I was afforded a great opportunity here with the Clippers. This is the first time I've been able to coach a team and run a team,” Rivers continued. “This may work, it may not work. It's a far bigger gamble for me than anyone else. So I thought it was the right time to take it.”
