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Magic man Rivers wins NBA coach of year award after .500 season
Posted: Thursday April 27, 2000 12:25 AM
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Orlando's Doc Rivers received the Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA's coach of the year Wednesday, becoming the first recipient who did not lead his team to the playoffs. The Magic finished with a 41-41 record despite launching a massive rebuilding project that began with the trading of four of five starters from last year's team, including All-Star Penny Hardaway. Rivers received 60 votes from a 121-member panel to edge Phil Jackson (53), who led the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the league. Charlotte's Paul Silas (3), Utah's Jerry Sloan (2) and Miami's Pat Riley, Phoenix's Scott Skiles and Toronto's Butch Carter (1 each) also received votes. Starting four players who were not drafted by any NBA team, Rivers kept the Magic in playoff contention until the final week of the season with an up-tempo style of play that relied on relentless defensive pressure to create scoring opportunities. "I said all year that I felt like I was the luckiest coach in the world because of the guys that I had on the team. Guys that committed to me, to this organization. If I'm coach of the year, then I had players of the year, and team of the year," Rivers said. "If I could explain our team in one word, it would be 'care.' Because that's what they did. They cared about playing. They cared about being coached. They cared about winning. They cared about improving. They cared about being teammates. And they made my job easy." In addition to being the first to capture the award without guiding his team to the postseason, the 38-year-old coach is the third to be recognized with a team that posted a record of .500 or below, and the fifth honored after his first season. Harry Gallatin (1962-63), Johnny Kerr (1966-67), Mike Schuler (1986-87) and Larry Bird (1997-98) were the other rookie coaches to receive the award named in honor of Auerbach, who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA titles.
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