Doc Rivers, the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, is a polarizing figure in the NBA coaching world. Despite criticisms of his coaching record, Rivers sees his career as a successful one.
While some NBA fans may question his track record, pointing to three blown 3-1 leads in the postseason and his teams’ struggles to close out playoff series over his 25 seasons as head coach, Rivers remains defiant.
“But I’ve never come up short, in my opinion,” Rivers told The Athletic. “Come up short? What does that mean? Like, we didn’t win a title? I go back in Philly. I took that job after we lost in the first round 4-0 (to the Celtics in 2020 under Brett Brown). The next year, we win the East in the regular season. All right. We are one game away from the Eastern finals.
Despite the narrative surrounding his coaching abilities, Rivers remains unfazed.
“Listen, I’m eighth in wins. I’m fourth in playoff wins,” Rivers said. “My dad used to say something, ‘If somebody said something you would never listen to, why would you ever pay attention to it?’ You know what I mean?
“My numbers don’t lie. I’ve coached for 25 years and I’ve had two losing seasons. And the two losing seasons, we were trying to f—— lose, yeah. So I’ve made the playoffs — whatever, I don’t even know — 21 out of 25 years. It’s almost like Deion Sanders said in that interview. There’s nothing you can say or do that’s going to take away from what I’ve done, and I’ll never allow that.
Despite his accomplishments, Rivers is determined to achieve more and is willing to face criticism in pursuit of further success.
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