Doc Rivers is just one the 10 coaches to rack up over 1,000 wins in the regular season, and his 113 playoff victories are the fourth-most in NBA history. It’s a tremendous record when you simply look at it. However, that’s just only part of the story.
Rivers holds the dubious distinction of being the only coach to blow a 3-1 series lead three times. And since leading the Celtics to a title in 2008, he hasn’t returned to the NBA Finals or even the Conference Finals despite having rosters with championship aspirations.
This series of playoff letdowns has altered his reputation, turning him from a championship coach to one associated with coming up short. However, Rivers doesn’t see it that way. In his eyes, he has never come up short in his coaching career.
Per The Athletic:
“I’ve never come up short, in my opinion. 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.”
