Home-court advantage is something most teams embrace, but head coach Doc Rivers didn’t have such warm feelings about the Wells Fargo Center when he coached the 76ers.
Rivers coached the Sixers for three seasons but never led the team beyond the second round of the playoffs during his tenure in the City of Brotherly Love.
Rivers said: Latest episode of “Bill Simmons Podcast”He spoke Thursday about coaching in Philadelphia.
“Usually we play better at home,” Rivers said. “The only team I’ve found difficult to play at home is Philadelphia because of the crowd. I think that affected the guys a little bit.”
The Sixers went 24-17 in 2021-22 and 29-12 at home in 2022-23, Rivers’ final season in Philadelphia.
Their best record at home was 29-7 in the 2020-21 season, which came without fans in the stands.
The season before Rivers took over as head coach, the Sixers were 31-4 at home.
Philadelphia went 25-15 on its home court last year, its first record since Nick Nurse took over as Philadelphia’s head coach.
Rivers, who began the 2023-24 season as an analyst for ESPN, became the Bucks’ head coach midway through last season and has also coached with the Magic and Clippers as well as Boston and Philadelphia.
