A coaching legend is officially on his way to Springfield.
Per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News, current Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers was voted into the 2026 Hall of Fame class. Rivers won the 2008 Finals while leading the Boston Celtics.
Rivers’ playing career ended in 1996, and it didn’t take long for him to enter the coaching space. He was named the head coach of the Orlando Magic in 1999 despite having no previous coaching experience.
He fared well early in his career, winning Coach of the Year after his first season with the Magic.
After being fired by Orlando early in the 2003 season, he took over in Boston in 2004. Though many questioned Rivers’ hiring at the time, he took the Celtics to the playoffs in his first season at the helm. He then missed the postseason in back-to-back seasons, but made up for it by winning a championship in 2008 behind the trio of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
Rivers reached the Finals again in 2010, but lost to the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers ahead of the 2013 season.
His time in Los Angeles saw Rivers consistently put together strong regular seasons, but he never managed to make it past the conference semifinals. After seven years at the helm, Rivers stepped down as the Clippers’ coach and took over as the Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach.
The Sixers found mild success in Rivers’ tenure, but like the Clippers, never reached the conference finals. He was fired after the 2022-23 campaign.
Rivers took over in Milwaukee during the 2023-24 campaign, but the Bucks have been unable to accomplish much amid a plethora of injuries. The team has been eliminated from playoff contention this season.
While Rivers hasn’t been able to replicate the success he found in Boston, he’s been a consistent winner who currently sits in sixth place all-time on the NBA’s career wins list.
The 64-year-old may already have a spot in the Hall of Fame, but he’ll look to continue bolstering his resume in the coming years.