Doc Rivers Says Some 76ers Players Were Affected by 'Difficult' Philadelphia Crowd | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

While many teams tend to play better on their home court, former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers said it was the opposite for his team during his tenure.

"Usually you play better at home," Rivers said on the Bill Simmons Podcast (h/t PHLY Sports' Derek Bodner). The only place that I thought it was difficult to play at home is in Philly, because of the crowd. I thought it affected our players some."

The 76ers were 31-4 at home in the 2019-20 season before dropping to 29-7 when Rivers took over the following year. In Rivers' final year in Philadelphia in the 2022-23 season, the 76ers went 29-12 at home.

Rivers' best season at home—when the 76ers went 29-7—came during the 2020-21 season when fans weren't allowed in the arena for the majority of the year due to COVID-19. The season after that, Philadelphia was a lackluster 24-17 at home despite finishing the year 51-31.

Whether members of Rivers' 76ers teams have the same belief about it being hard to play at home is unclear, but that's at least the way he saw it during his time there.

While Rivers has had success as an NBA head coach, he's had little to show for since his 2008 championship with the Boston Celtics. After a disappointing tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers, Rivers had three underwhelming seasons with the 76ers and never made it past the second round.

He took over as the Milwaukee Bucks head coach halfway through the season, going 17-19 in his 36 regular season games before a first-round exit in the playoffs. In Rivers' defense, the Bucks were severely undermanned with stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard both missing most of the series against the Indiana Pacers with injuries.

Rivers will return as the Bucks' head coach next season and look for more success than in recent years, especially on Milwaukee's home court.