The Los Angeles Clippers recently announced that the team has officially extended the contract of head coach Doc Rivers, who will be entering his sixth season with the franchise.
Rivers expressed his gratitude to the organization and the pride he has in the team’s past success, although acknowledging there are much bigger challenges ahead:
“I am proud of the success we have had here over the last five seasons, but there is more work to be done. We are coming off a year where our team battled through many challenges and much adversity, proving deep talent and even greater potential. I am looking forward to getting back to work on the court to develop our players and compete with the NBA’s elite.”
Team owner Steve Ballmer also expressed his trust in Rivers as the team’s head coach for the foreseeable future:
“Doc is one of the top coaches in the NBA, coming off one of his finest seasons since joining the Clippers. We trust Doc to lead a competitive, tough, hard-working team while upholding a culture of accountability expected to resonate throughout the organization.”
Despite undergoing major roster changes in the past year – with former faces of the franchise Chris Paul, who was involved in a trade to the Houston Rockets last offseason, and Blake Griffin, who was sent to the Detroit Pistons in a midseason transaction, exiting the team – and a plethora of injuries to the roster – including to newcomers Patrick Beverley, Danilo Gallinari, and Avery Bradley, Rivers still managed to lead the team to a 42-40 record.
Over his five years in Los Angeles, Rivers has led the team to a 259-151 record, the NBA’s fifth-best record in that span, and is the winningest coach in franchise history.
