Doc Rivers has goodbye message for Sixers, ‘tough’ Philly fans

The Sixers on Tuesday parted ways with head coach Doc Rivers after being eliminated in the second round for the third straight time.

President of basketball operations Daryl Morey released the following statement:

“Doc is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer, and someone I respect immensely. We’re grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise. After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship.”

The team also sent out a tweet thanking the future Hall of Fame coach:

There’s no use in sugarcoating it: Doc was not a beloved figure in Philadelphia. The team’s playoff struggles coupled with Rivers’ rigidity with personnel and schematically often drew the ire of Sixers fans. To his credit, Rivers knew what he was getting himself into in a city like Philly.

He put out the following statement on his Instagram:

(Anyone else read this in his voice? Just me?)

It’s a classy message from Doc.

We’ll see what the future holds for the now 61-year-old coach. Rivers began his coaching career with the Orlando Magic way back in 1999-2000 and never took a break between stops with the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers and Sixers.

As for the Sixers, they reportedly have six candidates in mind for their head coach opening. In an offseason with so much uncertainty surrounding James Harden’s situation, we’ll see which direction the team goes.