LA Clippers: Thank you for everything, Doc Rivers

We give thanks to Doc Rivers for everything he did for the LA Clippers.

When news broke today about Doc Rivers and the LA Clippers parting ways, I cannot say I was shocked. Despite the early rumors that he would be staying with the team after they lost in the second round of the postseason, it still seemed like he could be on the way out.

Now that it’s official, I think we should all take a second to thank Doc for everything he did for this team and let him know what he meant to us.

We’ll start with the basketball side. Doc is the Clippers all-time winningest coach with 307 regular-season wins (.624 win percentage). He also hosts the most postseason wins in franchise history with 20 (.435 postseason win percentage). While the end of his tenure here was as disappointing as other years coached by him in the playoffs, he still holds that record and did more than any other coach.

When the team got him in a trade with the Boston Celtics, fans were ecstatic. The team had moved on from Vinny Del Negro and bringing in a coach with a championship under his belt like Rivers really made the Lob City era feel official. He led the team to it’s first Pacific Division win. He had us finish 2nd in the Conference, higher than any team before.

The coaching side has accolades, sure. Doc just didn’t achieve enough as a coach. He did, however, achieve a ton as a man.

When the Donald Sterling tapes dropped, Doc led this Clippers’ team better than anyone could have asked. Not only did he take the on the responsibility of speaking to the media, but he also calmed the players and got them through an extremely tough first round versus the Golden State Warriors.

It takes a special person to do that.

It also takes a special person to give such a passionate speech about the importance of voting and why the Black Lives Matter movement is necessary. This year’s bubble was a goldmine for motivational speeches about the United State’s current situation and unrest but Rivers stood above all.

The LA Clippers will begin their search for a new head coach as they try and win their first championship. While it was time for Doc to go, we need to take a minute and appreciate everything he did for this franchise.

Thank you, Doc.