Doc Rivers Delivers Eloquent, Heartfelt Message About Celtics' Heather Walker

Donations to the Heather Walker Glioblastoma Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute can get made here: danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/move4heather

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Celtics' family and NBA community recently got hit with a crushing blow with the passing of Boston's former vice president of public relations Heather Walker, who spent nearly 20 years with the organization.

After getting diagnosed with Glioblastoma in 2021, Walker responded by starting the #Move4Heather challenge, which has raised almost $650,000 for the Heather Walker Glioblastoma Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Donations to the Heather Walker Glioblastoma Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute can be made here: danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/move4heather

Ways the Celtics are honoring Heather Walker include wearing shirts displaying Walker's initials on the front, with #Move4Heather on the back. Members of the Walker family are attending Game 1 between Boston and Philadelphia. And there will be a moment of celebration in Walker's honor before the National Anthem.

Walker's nearly two decades with the Celtics include working with their former head coach and current Sixers' bench boss Doc Rivers.

Ahead of the series opener at TD Garden, Rivers delivered an eloquent, heartfelt message about Walker that had the entire room emotional. It was a moment that captured what makes Rivers such a special individual.

"She was terrific and gone way too early."

Doc Rivers gets emotional remembering Heather Walker 💚#Move4Heather @celtics pic.twitter.com/kSxOfOzhBP

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 1, 2023

"Obviously, Heather Walker meant a lot to me," Philadelphia's head coach expressed before taking a long pause to collect himself. "Seventeen years or whatever," he said before taking another moment, "And leaving two kids, (and) a husband, and it happened so quick."

Rivers then spoke on getting to know Walker, conveying, "When Heather first came, I didn’t know what to make of her. When she first came, she was so strong, and early on, we would bump heads, and it was like, 'no, this is how we do this,' cause I was the old school PR thought, and she was bringing in the new way. And she was right," said Rivers, who shared the two texted about three weeks ago.

"I try to tell our guys, we live in a real-world sometimes, we really do. But you still have to do your jobs," he stated. Adding, "But there's just so many people that (you) work (with) that you have a chance to touch, and those people have a chance to touch you. And it’s just sad when you lose a woman so young and so gifted. And really, like a lot of people, you don’t even get a chance to say thank you," before ending his poignant message with, "She was terrific and gone way too early."