Doc Rivers joins NBC as analyst, says coaching career over — SkimNews
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- NBC announced Monday that Doc Rivers will serve as an NBA game analyst this season across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN, with potential studio work, per executive producer Sam Flood.
- Rivers told the AP he is 'absolutely retired' from coaching after being inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year, noting he can now give TV '100% attention.'
- Rivers turned down an NBC analyst offer in 1996 after his playing retirement because he couldn't guarantee then-NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol he wouldn't return to coaching.
- Rivers ranks sixth all-time in NBA coaching wins (1,194) and games coached (2,059), leading the Boston Celtics to the 2008 NBA title and also coaching Orlando, the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee.
- Rivers previously worked NBC's 2012 London Olympics studio coverage, spent three years at Turner Sports (1996-99), and did two ESPN/ABC stints including 2003-04 and part of the 2023-24 season on Mike Breen and Doris Burke's top booth.
- Rivers said his connections to NBC's roster run deep: he coached five current NBC analysts (Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, Brian Scalabrine) and played against lead analyst Reggie Miller.
- NBC's NBA coverage tips off Oct. 20 with three opening-night games, headlined by the New York Knicks raising their first banner since 1973 against Philadelphia in LeBron James' 76ers debut.
Why it matters: NBC inherits a Hall of Fame voice for its first NBA season back on the air since 2002, while Rivers closes the door on one of the most-respected coaching resumes of his generation. The move also reunites the network with a figure who declined the same chair three decades ago, giving NBC a built-in narrative hook — and a coach-turned-analyst who has personal ties to half its current talent roster.
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