On June 17, 2008, Doc Rivers coached a Boston Celtics team starring Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen to its 17th NBA Championship. For Doc Rivers, the impressive feat marked the second time that Phil Jackson lost in the NBA Finals. Since then, Doc Rivers-led teams have incurred some pretty dramatic fallouts. From the infamous Kevin Garnett-Ray Allen beef to the locker room tension involving his son Austin with the "Lob City" Clippers.
Doc was famously critical of Ben Simmons following the Philadelphia Sixers' upset loss to the Atlanta Hawks after the Eastern Conference semi-finals in 2021. Two years later, the Philadelphia 76ers fired Doc Rivers. So, now that James Harden (the man who the 76ers traded Ben Simmons for in 2022) is no longer his responsibility, the 2008 NBA Champion recently shared his thoughts on the difficulties he encountered trying to coach the former NBA MVP. During a recent interview on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Doc Rivers said the following.
“It was challenging," Doc recalled. "More because we were fighting two things, and not like visually fighting. James was so good at playing one way, and the way I believe you have to play to win, in some ways is different because it’s a lot of giving up the ball, moving the ball, and coming back to the ball.”
To hear Doc Rivers' take on James Harden, scroll up and skip ahead to the 14:20 mark.
Source: YouTube
