"How does he keep getting jobs"- NBA fans are puzzled after report that Doc Rivers is one of the finalists for the Suns' coaching position

Dallas Mavericks v Philadelphia 76ers — Former Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers

Following the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Doc Rivers was fired as the head coach. This marked the third consecutive second-round exit for the Sixers under Rivers' leadership. Many fans believed that this might signal the end of his career as an NBA head coach. However, according to a recent report by Shams Charania of The Athletic, Rivers is now one of the finalists for the Phoenix Suns' coaching vacancy.

The Suns fired Monty Williams following their Game 6 Western Conference semifinals loss to the Denver Nuggets. The loss marked the Suns’ second straight second-round exit. Naturally, most assumed that Phoenix would target a coach who has experienced a high level of playoff success in recent years. So, when the news broke that Rivers is one of the Suns’ coaching finalists, many fans expressed their disbelief:

Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to Rivers being named one of the Suns’ coaching finalists:

What is Doc Rivers’ career coaching record?

Doc Rivers has been an NBA head coach for 24 seasons with the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, LA Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers. He has a career regular season coaching record of 1097-763 (.590). His playoff coaching record is 111-104 (.516).

Rivers has won one NBA title in 24 seasons, however, that came back in 2008 with the Celtics. In addition, Rivers has not made an NBA Finals appearance since 2010 (Boston).

Despite his recent playoff struggles, Rivers was still named one of the 15 greatest coaches in NBA history during the league’s 75th anniversary season. The list was voted on by 43 current and former NBA head coaches.

About the author

Tristan Rawcliffe is a basketball writer at Sportskeeda. Basketball has been Tristan's lifelong passion since age 11, and hailing from Brantford, Ontario, Tristan's loyalty lies with the Toronto Raptors.

He is a big fan of Nikola Jokic for his fundamental playstyle and Scottie Barnes for his versatility and potential. Tristan credits Nick Nurse for leading the Raptors to their first championship in 2019 and he holds Kawhi Leonard's iconic buzzer-beater in the playoffs as his favorite NBA moment.

Tristan is an all-around stats enthusiast and excels with statistical research skills to enrich his articles with compelling data and facts.

When he's not writing about basketball, Tristan enjoys spending time with family, playing sports and board games, swimming with his six-year-old son and traveling around Davao.

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