Doc Rivers Headed to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2026
doc-rivers-to-enter-hall-of-fame-class-of-2026
Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has been selected for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2026, according to a person familiar with the decision who spoke to Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. The complete list of honorees is scheduled to be announced on Saturday, April 4.
Rivers, 64, was named a North American committee finalist in February. Over 27 NBA seasons on the sideline, he has accumulated the sixth-most coaching victories in league history with a regular-season record of 1,191-861, good for a .580 winning percentage.
His teams have reached the playoffs in 21 of those 27 campaigns. Rivers captured his lone championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and returned to the NBA Finals with Boston in 2010, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. Aside from those two deep runs, his postseason results have been mixed: clubs he led in Los Angeles (Clippers) and Philadelphia from 2013-14 through 2022-23 did not advance beyond the second round. Boston’s 2012 squad is the only other team he coached that reached a conference final. His career playoff mark stands at 104-102 (.504).
Milwaukee was eliminated from playoff contention last Saturday, ending the franchise’s streak of postseason appearances that dated to 2016.
Before moving to the bench, the Illinois native spent 13 seasons as an NBA guard from 1983-84 to 1995-96, earning an All-Star nod with the Atlanta Hawks in 1987-88.
Update on fellow finalist Dick Motta
Townsend also reported that former Dallas Mavericks coach Dick Motta was informed Monday that he will not be enshrined this year. The 94-year-old has now been a finalist three times, most recently in 2012.
Motta, who had two separate stints in Dallas and also guided the Chicago Bulls, Washington Bullets (now Wizards), Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets, owns a career regular-season record of 935-1,017 (.479) and a playoff log of 57-70 (.444). He sits 14th on the NBA’s all-time wins list; among the top 15 coaches, only Rivers, Motta and current Pacers coach Rick Carlisle were not yet Hall members—a distinction that will no longer apply to Rivers later this year.
Motta’s résumé also includes coaching at the junior high, high school, junior college and major-college levels, and he led the Bullets to consecutive NBA Finals in 1978 and 1979, capturing the title in 1978.
Source: Hoops Rumors
