As Doc Rivers took the stage in Springfield this weekend for his induction into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, his long coaching career was summed up by the three men who welcomed him to the hall.
Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are rarely all together anymore after their bitter breakup. But the 2008 championship was the return of the Boston Celtics to the national stage and the crowning achievement for their coach.
Rivers jokingly brought the three together for one final "Ubuntu," the team's huddle-breaking saying that represented their togetherness and the sacrifice and selflessness of their stars for their greater goal of winning a title.
As Rivers thanked all the people who influenced his life and career as a player and a coach, He told the story of a massive argument he had with his New York Knicks coach, Pat Riley.
Rivers recalled Riley telling him sternly in that argument that he would understand when he was a coach -- and he would be a coach someday.
Rivers laughed at the memory, thinking Riley was crazy to think he would coach. But then he shared what stuck with him. One of Riley's lessons, according to Rivers, was never to coach a person for who they are today, but to push them to who they should be someday.
That sums up Rivers' coaching philosophy and all of his most successful teams.
"Being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is the greatest individual achievement our sport can offer," Rivers said in his induction speech. "I thought about this a lot after I got the call, and what I came to realize is this is so not about me. It really is about everybody that I've worked with."
That Rivers would mention that probably speaks to his central thesis as a coach. And something that was evident from the moment he took the lead seat on the bench with the Magic in the 2000 season.
What helped build Rivers' tenure as a head coach was this focus on how to make the most of every team. And that has left a lasting impact with the Magic.
Heart and Hustle still stands out
The Orlando Magic have become something of a footnote in Doc Rivers' career.
He coached plenty more teams that had star power and a bigger impact in NBA history, including that 2008 championship team with the Boston Celtics. Rivers became a coach in-demand to make the most out of veteran stars, whether it was the Lob City LA Clippers, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers and Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Rivers was never quite able to replicate the success he had in that run in Boston. But Rivers still had plenty of success. His teams were always contenders, even if they could not get over the hump.
His start did not preview those heights. He started with a team that had zero expectations and was gutted to clear cap room for the summer of 2001.
John Gabriel hired a coach with zero previous coaching experience to guide that team. Nobody had any thoughts about that season.
They were not even predicted to win 20 games that season.
They ended up becoming the most beloved team in franchise history. Led by Darrell Armstrong, the group of cast-offs and expiring contracts won 41 games and made it to the final week of the season before their Playoff dreams finally ended.
Rivers has long said that first team was his favorite team to coach. It was certainly proof that he could coach and that he could get the most out of a team.
It was the central theme of his entire coaching career. He coached who players could be and would be, not who they are now.
Heart and Hustle was no better example of that.
This team was not supposed to be anything. Rivers instilled in them the belief that they could be much more. And then they rode that further than anyone could imagine.
Heart and Hustle represents the best
Doc Rivers' career obviously grew to greater heights. He obviously accomplished a lot after leaving Orlando.
But the Heart and Hustle ethos is at the core of why so many people like team sports. It is about effort and sacrifice for the greater good.
Why is a team that scraped to get to .500 the most beloved team in franchise history?
It was the unexpected delight of a team winning and the intensity and effort they played with. Everyone is measured against that team. And Magic fans reject teams who fail to live up to it.
That was a standard that Rivers brought to the Magic.
It proved the foundations of his coaching career. Everything that he succeeded with started from this team and grew from that philosophy. It was the basis for his entire Hall of Fame coaching career.
The Heart and Hustle team did not get a mention during his Hall of Fame induction speech. But it was there everywhere. It set the tone for Rivers' success and is among his many legacies as a coach.
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