Sixers' Doc Rivers Reacts to Eastern Conference Coach of the Month Honors
Less than a year ago, Doc Rivers was leading the Los Angeles Clippers for the seventh-straight season. This year, he got a fresh start with the Philadelphia 76ers, and so far, it's looking like the change of scenery is working out well for him.
On Monday, the NBA announced the two coaches of the month based on the beginning of the season, which started in late December and all of January. For the Western Conference, Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder earned the honors.
For the Eastern Conference, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers earned the right to be called Coach of the Month for the 12th time in his career. It didn't necessarily come as a surprise considering Rivers has coached the Sixers to the number one spot in the conference through the first 21 games of the season.
Back in the summer, the Sixers ended their season on a low note as the Boston Celtics swept them in the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs. Now, they are suddenly 15-6 and at least two games ahead of everybody else in the East.
Doc Rivers can take a lot of credit for getting his team to this position, but he won't absorb all of the props for himself. Despite being named the Coach of the Month, the veteran leader admitted that he isn't too concerned about a personal monthly award on Tuesday after practice.
"[I don't have] much reaction, to be honest,” Rivers said Tuesday. “It’s nice, obviously, but all it means is that your players are playing well, your staff is doing well, and you’re probably healthy. I don’t make much of [those awards], to be honest, but I’d rather have them than not, I guess because that means that your team’s playing well and you’re doing some right things.”
Rivers admitted his team still has a lot of work to do despite placing at the top of the East through the first month and some change. So far, though, the Sixers look much improved from last season. Now, the Eastern Conference's Coach of the Month is looking forward to helping his team improve further and seeing how far this Sixers team can go this season.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
