Doc Rivers Deserves NBA Moment of the Year

Doc Rivers might not win Coach of the Year for his leadership of the LA Clippers, but he more than deserves Moment of the Year.

What a year for Doc Rivers. The LA Clippers head coach led a team of “role players” to a 48-34 record in a tough Western Conference which was good enough to make the playoffs. Despite a hard fought first round against the Golden State Warriors, which included a historic comeback, the team was unable to advance.

Doc managed to pull this season off while starting a rookie point guard and even after trading arguably the team’s best player at the trade deadline. Yes, doing all this earned Doc a nomination for Coach of the Year. It’s not likely he’ll win that award. But you know what he should win?

Moment of the Year.

On February 25th, with nine seconds left in the game, the Clippers took a timeout despite having a nine point lead. Rivers grabbed the PA microphone and directed the crowd to give Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki a standing ovation, calling him one of the greatest of all-time. Dirk would later announce and the end of the season that he would, in fact, be retiring after 20 seasons in the NBA.

This one is up to you, Clipper Nation. Fans can vote for Moment of the Year on NBA.com. This moment truly stands out from the rest. While the others nominees are impressive (Russell Westbrook‘s 20-20-20 triple-double, Derrick Rose‘s emotional career night, Dwyane Wade‘s buzzer beater against the Warriors and Luka Doncic‘s buzzer beater against Portland), Doc’s moment is one that transcends the game itself.

Watch the clip again and listen to the Mavericks commentators. They are absolutely floored by Doc’s gesture.

Look at the quotes from the post game.

"“It was sweet. I’m really appreciative,” Nowitzki said after the Mavs’ loss to the Clippers, via ESPN. “At first, I was like, ‘Why is Doc calling a timeout? What’s he doing with [9.4] seconds left? What’s he up to?’ Then he grabbed the mic. I didn’t really understand much, but that was really humbling. That was an emotional moment.”“It was one of the greatest things I’ve seen,” Carlisle said. “I know there will be more moments similar to that, but this was an original. I’ve never seen something like this."

Doc didn’t stop the game and honor Dirk for some fan voted player award. He did it because he genuinely thought Dirk deserved the moment and is one of the greatest of all-time.

Still, shouldn’t we reward someone being so genuine? There will be more triple-doubles. There will be more buzzer beaters. There won’t be another moment quite like this one. Go vote.