76ers HC Doc Rivers Might Ditch his Nickname This Season

Although he's known as Doc Rivers, the Philadelphia 76ers' newest head coach might ditch his nickname for the 2020-2021 NBA season.

There's only one Doc in Philly, according to Philadelphia 76ers broadcaster, Marc Zumoff. Anytime the NBC Sports Philadelphia veteran mentioned the name Doc; he was always referring to Sixers legend, Julius 'Dr. J' Erving. 

Now that the Sixers have somebody nicknamed Doc in the building, it's caused quite the debate across the city. Just last week, the Sixers hired former Los Angeles Clippers head coach, Doc Rivers, a few days after he became available.

Although Rivers, whose first name is Glenn, has been known as Doc for quite some time during his lengthy career in basketball as a player and a coach, the veteran head coach isn't opposed to Zumoff calling him by his first name as he takes on the Sixers' head coaching job for the 2020-2021 season.

“I’m Glenn with you, and I’m fine with that, because I actually agree with that,” Rivers told Zumoff on Monday as he returned to Philadelphia to get settled into his new work environment. “There’s only one Doc in town.”

On Saturday, in his first statement as the Sixers' head coach, Rivers mentioned he was excited to join the franchise that Julius Erving played for because he inspired his nickname. This week, Rivers reiterated how his nickname came about when he was in his early High School days as a hoops player.

“I got the nickname at a basketball camp at Marquette," Rivers explained. "After I check in, I walk away, and Rick Majerus tells Al McGuire, ‘That kid is really good.’ And I had a Dr. J T-shirt on. So at the end of the week, the Milwaukee Bucks came in to play a basketball game in front of the campers, and they only had nine players, and they needed a 10th. And Al McGuire walks up to the stands -- I think there were 200 kids at this camp -- and he starts yelling for Doc. He’s pointing at me, but my name’s Glenn. And he keeps saying, ‘Doc, come down.’ Finally, I realize Doc was me."

From that day moving forward, Glenn Rivers knew himself as Doc. Coming to coach the Sixers, Rivers won't ditch the nickname entirely. After all, it's stuck with him throughout his entire playing and coaching career, which all started back in the early 80s. However, many Philly fans might get used to hearing the name Glenn more often than not as Rivers agrees Zumoff shouldn't address him as Doc, to keep his message consistent -- there's only one Doc in town.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_