Former NBA player and current analyst Gilbert Arenas is known for speaking his mind on various basketball topics, and he is never afraid to criticize. However, Arenas now has nothing negative to say about former Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers (now with the Milwaukee Bucks), and Arenas recently explained why that is.
Arenas said Rivers contacted him after Arenas’ son Alijah was involved in a car accident. Arenas said that this impressed him because Rivers was not concerned with the criticism Arenas was receiving in the media. He said he realized what a great person Rivers is because despite all this, he reached out to him to ask about his son.
Rivers has an excellent reputation in the NBA, and there’s a reason for that. He is and always has been a high-character man, and he became known as a “players coach” on the sidelines throughout his career, often showing a special talent for managing egos in the locker room and getting everyone to buy in.
Rivers has had success leading several NBA teams (and was a very good player, too), but he reached his coaching pinnacle with the Celtics.
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Rivers arrived in Boston in 2004, taking charge of a Celtics squad eager for a revival. The early years proved challenging: a first-round playoff exit in 2005 was followed by consecutive postseason misses in 2006 and 2007, with records of 33–49 and 24–58, prompting calls for change. Yet Rivers’ tenure changed dramatically in 2007–08. Boosted by the arrivals of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen along with Paul Pierce, Boston reached a league-best 66–16 mark. Rivers guided the team to the playoffs and won the NBA Championship in six games over the Lakers.
The excellence continued in the following seasons. The rematch of the 2010 Finals against Los Angeles went down to seven games, but Rivers’ squads captured six Atlantic Division titles in nine years, including a 416–305 regular-season record and seven playoff berths. His emphasis on a team-first “Ubuntu” philosophy fostered an unbreakable bond between the stars.
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