Doc Rivers

Glenn “Doc” Rivers has had a rather successful career as both an NBA player and coach. In 1994, Doc released Those Who Love the Game, offering an inside look at his life and relationship with basketball.

As a player, Doc became a McDonald’s All-American at Proviso East High School. In 1982, Sports Speaker Doc Rivers played on the United States team in the FIBA World Championship and earned the title of the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Doc played three seasons at Marquette University before being drafted into the NBA to play for the Atlanta Hawks.

While playing for the Hawks, Doc continued working on his college degree despite having made it as an NBA star. After seven seasons with the Hawks, Doc started for one season on the Los Angeles Clippers and two seasons for the New York Knicks before ending his playing career as a bench player for the San Antonio Spurs in 1996.

After receiving a 1988 NBA All-Star title and the 1990 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award, Doc had achieved greatness on the court. When playing was no longer an option, Doc decided to try his hand at coaching.

Doc started out coaching the lowest ranked team in 1999, the Orlando Magic. By 2000, Doc had won the Coach of the Year award and shocked everyone by nearly making the playoffs with this classic underdog team. The Orlando Magic made the playoffs for the three following years, before Doc left for the Boston Celtics.

Some criticized Doc’s coaching style during his first few seasons with the Celtics. That all changed in 2008 when Doc was recognized as the coach with the highest win-percentage in the Eastern conference and was granted the honor of coaching the East in the 2008 All-Star game. Doc went on to win his first NBA Championship as head coach in June of that same year.

Currently, Doc heads the coaching staff for the Los Angeles Clippers, where he once played and has been coaching since the summer of 2013. Doc also serves as a member of the Positive Coaching Alliance, encouraging healthier relationships between coaches and players through a series of videos available on the PCA’s Youtube channel.