BOSTON — Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers spent 10 years at the helm with the Boston Celtics, and back in the city to kick off the Eastern Conference semifinals, the 61-year-old was emotional.
Rivers is back in Boston for the first time since the tragic death of Heather Walker, who formerly served as a longtime Celtics vice president of public relations and underwent a two-year battle with brain cancer.
Without even being asked by members of the media, Rivers ended his pregame press conference addressing Walker. Rivers also mentioned that just a few weeks before her passing, the two exchanged texts and remained connected beyond the end of his run as head coach of the Celtics.
“Obviously Heather Walker meant a lot to me,” Rivers said emotionally. “You know 17 years of whatever and leaving two kids, a husband and it happened so quick. When Heather first came, I didn’t know what to make of her. When she first came, she was so strong. And early on we would bump heads. … But she was just terrific.
“… I try to tell our guys often, we live in a real world sometimes. We really do. But you still have to do your job so you have to do things. Didn’t mean to get emotional, which was not planned. But there’s just so many people at work that you have a chance to touch and those people have a chance to touch you. It’s just sad when you lose one so young and so gifted.”
Rivers added: “She was terrific and gone way too early.”
The Celtics and 76ers begin their best-of-seven series after Boston took the regular-season series, 3-1.
