76ers fire Doc Rivers after 3rd straight 2nd-round exit

The Philadelphia 76ers have dismissed head coach Doc Rivers, the team announced Tuesday.

Rivers, who won the 2008 NBA championship as head coach of the Boston Celtics, spent three seasons with Philadelphia. The 76ers fell in the second round of the playoffs in each campaign, most recently losing to the Celtics with Sunday's Game 7 defeat.

"Doc is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, a future Hall of Famer, and someone I respect immensely," 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement.

"We're grateful for all he did in his three seasons here and thank him for the important impact he made on our franchise. After having the chance to reflect upon our season, we decided that certain changes are necessary to further our goals of competing for a championship."

Philadelphia's search for a new head coach is expected to feature several high-profile candidates, including recently fired former Coach of the Year winners Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse, and Monty Williams, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Rivers joined the 76ers after coaching stints with the Orlando Magic, Celtics, and Los Angeles Clippers; Philadelphia hired him with hopes he could guide a Joel Embiid-led core deep into the postseason.

But while the 76ers went 154-82 over the past three regular seasons, they failed to reach the Eastern Conference finals under Rivers. Their regular-season record over that stretch was the third-best in the NBA, trailing only those of Budenholzer's Milwaukee Bucks and Williams' Phoenix Suns, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Embiid, this year's MVP, vouched for Rivers following the team's second-round loss to Boston, telling reporters the veteran coach "has done a fantastic job."