The Clippers have rewarded head coach Doc Rivers for leading the team to a surprising six-game bout with the reigning champion Warriors in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Rivers officially signed a contract extension Saturday to remain with Los Angeles long term, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. He did not disclose the length of his new deal, the report noted, but confirmed that he had signed one.
This comes after Rivers first made the possibility of an extension public during the regular season to dispute rumors that he was headed to the Lakers to take over for the now-fired Luke Walton.
“I have a job, and the Lakers have a coach,” Rivers said in March. “I can tell you that straight and up front. I’m going to be here until [Clippers owner] Steve [Ballmer] says ‘Get out.’”
After the team's season-ending loss Friday, Rivers doubled down on that sentiment and said he couldn't be more proud of any team he's coached. The Clippers finished 48-34 this season and took the Warriors to six games before falling in the first round.
"As I've said before, I've never had a group where you wanted to, in the morning, you raced to the car, you raced to practice just because you love being around them," Rivers said. "So, for me, it was just a pleasure to coach them."
Rivers joined the Clippers organization in 2013 after five seasons with the Magic and nine seasons with the Celtics.
He has a 307-185 regular season record in six seasons with the Clippers and has reached the playoffs five times — more than a third of the team's playoff appearances in its 49-year history.