This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The bus drove the Los Angeles Clippers into downtown Salt Lake City, and general manager Dave Wohl remembered a checkpoint in Doc Rivers' coaching career.
"Hey," he reminded Rivers, "this is where you got fired."
Rivers' response: "Yeah, thanks, Dave."
He could laugh as he told that story before the Clippers' victory over the Jazz in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Friday. His life has played out nicely in the 13 seasons since the Orlando Magic dismissed him after a loss to the Jazz.
After recounting that story, Rivers turned in one of the best coaching performances of his career. That's saying something for a coach who once won a championship in Boston and competed in another NBA Finals.
The Clippers rallied to beat the Jazz 111-106 after trailing by nine points at halftime and losing forward Blake Griffin to a toe injury (he'll miss the rest of the playoffs, the Clippers announced Saturday). Having guard Chris Paul on his side obviously helped, but Rivers guided the Clippers through a tough game as they moved ahead in the series.
Rivers overcame Jazz coach Quin Snyder's adjustments in Game 3 and faces another challenge in Sunday night's Game 4, while he adds another layer to his Salt Lake City history. He's forever linked to the late Rick Majerus, who basically renamed him. And former University of Utah star Britton Johnsen considers Rivers his all-time favorite coach — even though Rivers cut him, spoiling his NBA homecoming.
Game 3 became some of Rivers' best work in a town where he once experienced an eventful couple of days in November 2003. He visited Majerus — "the most influential person in my life of basketball," he said — and spoke to his old coach's Ute players, then worked his last game for Orlando the next night. Andrei Kirilenko scored 25 points and Matt Harpring grabbed 19 rebounds in the Jazz's 90-88 win the season after Karl Malone and John Stockton departed. The Magic fired Rivers after the team's 10th straight loss early in his fourth season.
"I think it was the best thing that happened to me, if you want to be honest," Rivers said. "I didn't think [so] at the time."
Rivers revived his career in Boston, where he won a championship in 2008 and was coaching the Celtics in 2012 when Majerus died. The Celtics were playing in Milwaukee, where Majerus grew up and recruited Rivers as a Marquette University assistant.
"He gave me my name," an emotional Rivers said that night. The next weekend, he flew from Philadelphia to Milwaukee for Majerus' funeral, then coached the Celtics in Boston soon afterward.
He once was known as Glenn "Doc" Rivers, much as the golfer was called Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. At some point, the nickname became his permanent identity.
The relationship with Majerus began during Rivers' sixth-grade summer, when the Chicago native attended a Marquette camp. A few years later, while in high school, he wore a Julius Erving Dr. J T-shirt to another camp that Majerus worked in northern Illinois. Many versions of the story have been told, but that's where "Doc" originated, according to Rivers' account in the Los Angeles Times.
"Rick made me realize I could be a special person and player," Rivers said. "Where Rick was great, he hammered you on both. He didn't just hammer you on being a great basketball player."
Johnsen's admiration for Rivers ironically stems from the contrast of playing for him after being beaten down by Majerus' criticism. Johnsen made the Magic roster as an undrafted free agent and started the 2003-04 season opener, a win over New York. "Doc just believed in me," said Johnsen, a Murray High School graduate who's now a Jazz radio network analyst. "He saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. He kind of sold me on myself."
But injuries to other players forced Orlando to sign guard Derrick Dial and release Johnsen, just as the Magic were boarding a flight to Salt Lake City. "It was tough; the timing was awful," Rivers said at the time.
The final shot of Rivers' last game with the Magic was Dial's missed 3-point attempt. His firing came hours later. Johnsen played in the NBA Development League and rejoined the Magic in March to finish the season. He appeared briefly with Indiana the next season then played professionally in five other countries.
Rivers returned to the NBA in 2004 in Boston, where he spent nine seasons. He moved to the Clippers with control of the basketball operation and keeps trying to advance beyond the Western Conference semifinals. The quest has become even more difficult with Griffin sidelined and Golden State presumably next for the Clippers, once they get past the Jazz.
That's getting slightly ahead of the story. Game 4 is Sunday night, when Rivers will try to create another positive memory of Salt Lake City.
Twitter: @tribkurt