Doc Rivers says his coaching career is over. The longtime NBA coach announced Monday he is joining NBC as a game analyst, covering the network’s NBA broadcasts across NBC, Peacock and NBCSN, with the possibility of studio work as well.
“I honestly can say I’m absolutely retired,” Rivers told the Associated Press. “I had a long run. It ended up in the [Naismith] Hall of Fame [earlier this year] and I am so thankful that I was able to coach and played as long as I did. For the first time, I can focus on giving TV my 100 percent attention, which I’m really looking forward to.”
Rivers coached nine seasons with the Boston Celtics, leading the team to an NBA championship in 2008. He also had coaching stints with the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks over a career that spanned decades before his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year.
He is no stranger to the broadcast side of the game. Rivers spent three years with Turner Sports from 1996 to 1999, later did two stints with ESPN/ABC in the 2000s, and worked as a studio analyst for NBC’s coverage of the 2012 Olympics.
On his approach to analysis, Rivers said he intends to keep telling it straight.
“I think I’ve always been pretty honest. I’ve always celebrated the game in general, but told the truth. I don’t think anyone has ever had a problem with honesty and the way you tell the truth. There are always times where you offend people because of the truth, but I’ve never really worried about that.”
Rivers will work alongside his son, Austin Rivers, who is already an NBC Sports analyst. The elder Rivers joins a broadcast lineup that includes six former players he once coached, among them Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Brian Scalabrine and Jamal Crawford.
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