Saturday is one of the biggest days of Doc Rivers’ life. He is getting inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But what makes tonight even bigger for him is who’s standing up there with him.
Doc Rivers Talks Reuniting Celtics’ Big 3 for Hall of Fame Induction
Rivers coached the Boston Celtics from 2004 to 2013. Over those nine seasons, he put together a regular-season record of 416 wins and 305 losses. He led the Celtics to the 2008 NBA championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
Celtics reporter Bobby Manning caught up with Rivers ahead of his Hall of Fame induction and asked him straight up how it feels knowing his old Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen will be the ones introducing him tonight. Rivers did not waste a moment with his answer.
“It was a goal. I can tell you that. I’m a big believer and I’m going to say this in my speech, but I think when you win it, you do kind of have like a blood transfusion. You should be together for life. Those three in particular have had their ups and downs.”
“And the fact that they all three agreed to be together on the stage and have dropped the [expletive] is the way I would, like to put it. It’s just absolutely amazing. Maybe my last good coaching feat getting them together. But it wasn’t hard. That’s what was so shocking. It wasn’t hard. All three of them immediately. I called separately, and they were all quick to be at it. It’s cool,” Rivers said.
Pierce, Garnett & Allen will introduce Doc Rivers tonight before his HOF induction: “Those 3 have had their ups-and-downs, and the fact that they all 3 agreed to be together on the stage and have dropped the BS … it may be my last great coaching feat.”
Q: @RealBobManning pic.twitter.com/3mxYPPicjS
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) August 15, 2026
When Allen left Boston for the Miami Heat in the summer of 2012, it didn’t sit well with his old teammates.
Garnett and Pierce felt like Allen had gone to join a rival right after their championship run together, and that stung more than any other free-agency move. Garnett, in particular, took it hard and kept his distance from Allen for years afterward. Now it seems that the beef has settled.
For Rivers, this induction caps a coaching career that ranks him sixth all-time in wins. But tonight isn’t really about the win total. It’s about the people.
