PHILADELPHIA (AP) — With the Bucks lengthy out of the playoff race, Doc Rivers was ready on the final day of the NBA season for one last sport to coach.
For positive, this season. Forever? That continues to be to be decided — not less than with a public declaration.
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“I’m not going to announce anything,” Rivers mentioned Sunday forward of the Bucks sport towards the 76ers.
Rivers, the NBA’s winningest energetic coach and somebody rating sixth on the league’s all-time victory checklist, once more cited age and time with his grandchildren as the important thing causes he would name it a profession. At 32-49 in a relatively tumultuous Bucks season, and a strained relationship between the group and All-Star and former MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, the indicators all appear to level towards Rivers’ retirement.
The 64-year-old Rivers — who coached the Sixers for 3 seasons — conceded Sunday did carry some added emotional heft. Yet, he did not need to make any type of retirement speech as a result of, “you never know.”
“I don’t want be Ali and keep coming back,” Rivers mentioned.
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His last reply will come “definitely sooner” relatively than later within the offseason.
Rivers famous he has a pair of grandparents’ days developing at college and deliberate to be in attendance. He mentioned greater than the dropping has weighed on him this season.
“It’s the age,” Rivers mentioned with amusing. “It’s a lot of things. I still love it. I do. I absolutely love coaching.”
Milwaukee got here into the season with championship aspirations, constructed once more round Antetokounmpo and additional bolstered by the acquisition of Myles Turner in free company final summer season. But accidents doomed Milwaukee; the Bucks began 8-5, then misplaced seven consecutive video games to fall below .500 and that’s the place they stayed the remainder of the way in which.
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Antetokounmpo didn’t play towards the 76ers and completed the season with 27.6 factors and 9.8 rebounds in 36 video games this season, by far the fewest video games of his 13-year profession.
Rivers additionally coached the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics, profitable the NBA title with the Celtics in 2008.
Rivers known as video games for TNT after his enjoying profession was completed and later was a part of ESPN’s broadcast group throughout the 2003-04 season, together with the NBA Finals.
Rivers, who performed 13 seasons within the NBA, mentioned he had been approached by a community (he did not say which one) about returning to the postseason sales space however was uncertain if he would settle for.
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Rivers has a 114-112 teaching document within the playoffs that features a 16-10 mark the yr he received the title in Boston. Rivers has missed the playoffs 5 occasions over his 27-year teaching document and solely as soon as (2017-2018 with the Clippers) since 2008.
“It’s hard,” Rivers mentioned. “I don’t remember guys being out like this, but it makes sense. I haven’t had a lot of this. It’s no fun. Losing, I don’t give a crap what the reasons are, I’m just too competitive. It’s just no fun not winning. It just isn’t.”
Rivers goes into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame this summer season. Only Gregg Popovich, Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan and Pat Riley have extra teaching wins than Rivers.
“I’m not going to talk much about me in my speech,” Rivers mentioned. “I think the Hall of Fame, for a coach, at least, means that you had Hall of Fame people around you. You’ve had unbelievable players and you’ve had a lot of help getting there. It’s so little about you.”
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