Following a disappointing season which ended in a Western Conference Semifinals exit against the Denver Nuggets after leading 3-1, Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers have parted ways.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the veteran coach will be leaving his coaching duties after being with the team since 2013.
Coach Doc Rivers is out with the Clippers, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 28, 2020
Los Angeles will now have to start looking for Rivers replacement, who still had two years left on his contract. Clippers assistant Ty Lue and former Rockets and Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy are the top candidates in the marketplace.
Coach Rivers said goodbye to Clippernation through a letter shared on social media.
— doc rivers (@DocRivers) September 28, 2020
Rivers had just finished his seventh season with the organization, where he compiled a 356-208 overall record. They reached the postseason in all but one season under his watch, but never made it out of the semifinals.
The 63 year-old, who is the only head coach in league history to blow a 3-1 lead three times in his career, spent five seasons with the Orlando Magic and nine seasons with the Boston Celtics before making the jump to the West Coast in 2013.
His main goal when arriving to Los Angeles was to win a title like he did at Boston in 2008, and despite having great teams including Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, he was never able to deliver.